001 


•fACDONAL© 


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OF   ENGLISH    TEXTS 

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GATEWAY   SERIES 


SPEECH    ON   CONCILIATION 
WITH  AMERICA 


BY 


EDMUND    BURKE 


EDITED   BY 
WILLIAM   MACDONALD,  PH.D.,  LL.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF    HISTORY    IN    BROWN    UNIVERSITY 


BEPM1MNT  OF  DRAMATIC  ART 

NEW  YORK  •:•  CINCINNATI  •:•  CHICAGO 

AMERICAN    BOOK    COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1904,  BY 
AMERICAN   BOOK  COMPANY. 

ENTERED  AT  STATIONERS'  HALL,  LONDON. 

BURKE'S  CONCILIATION. 
w.  p.  ii 


PROPERTY  OF 
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PREFACE    BY   THE   GENERAL 
EDITOR 

THIS  series  of  books  aims,  first,  to  give  the  English 
texts  required  for  entrance  to  college  in  a  form  which 
shall  make  them  clear,  interesting,  and  helpful  to  those 
who  are  beginning  the  study  of  literature  ;  and,  second, 
to  supply  the  knowledge  which  the  student  needs  to 
pass  the  entrance  examination.  For  these  two  reasons 
it  is  called  The  Gateway  Series. 

The  poems,  plays,  essays,  and  stories  in  these  small 
volumes  are  treated,  first  of  all,  as  works  of  literature, 
which  were  written  to  be  read  and  enjoyed,  not  to  be 
parsed  and  scanned  and  pulled  to  pieces.  A  short  life 
of  the  author  is  given,  and  a  portrait,  in  order  to  help 
the  student  to  know  the  real  person  who  wrote  the 
book.  The  introduction  tells  wrhat  it  is  about,  and 
how  it  was  written,  and  where  the  author  got  the  idea, 
and  what  it  means.  The  notes  at  the  foot  of  the  page 
are  simply  to  give  the  sense  of  the  hard  words  so  that 
the  student  can  read  straight  on  without  turning  to  a 
dictionary.  The  other  notes,  at  the  end  of  the  book; 
explain  difficulties  and  allusions  and  fine  points. 

5 


6  Preface  by  the  General  Editor 

The  editors  are  chosen  because  of  their  thorough 
training  and  special  fitness  to  deal  with  the  books 
committed  to  them,  and  because  they  agree  with  this 
idea  of  what  a  Gateway  Series  ought  to  be.  They 
express,  in  each  case,  their  own  views  of  the  books 
which  they  edit.  Simplicity,  thoroughness,  shortness, 
and  clearness,  —  these,  we  hope,  will  be  the  marks  of 
the  series. 

HENRY  VAN   DYKE. 


PREFACE 

A  BOOK  whose  method  and  aim  are  not  fairly  appar 
ent  on  inspection  is  not  likely,  I  think,  to  be  made 
much  clearer  through  the  agency  of  a  preface.  In  the 
present  instance,  accordingly,  it  seems  unnecessary  to 
say  more  than  that  I  have  sought,  in  harmony  with  the 
general  plan  of  the  Gateway  Series,  to  treat  Burke's 
speech,  not  as  a  "  literary  puzzle  "  for  the  student,  or 
as  a  medium  for  learned  display  by  the  editor,  but 
rather  as  a  great  argumentative  discourse  whose  inter 
est  for  American  youth  ought  always  to  be  historical 
as  well  as  literary.  The  Speech  on  Conciliation  is 
rightly  regarded  as  a  masterpiece  of  logical  exposition 
and  elaboration,  but  it  will  not  do  to  forget  that  it  is 
also  the  sanest  and  most  powerful  plea  for  reasonable 
ness  and  consideration  put  forth  during  the  whole 
period  of  the  struggle  between  the  American  colonies 
and  the  mother  country.  The  introduction,  therefore, 
dwells  more  upon  the  circumstances  out  of  which  the 
speech  sprang  than  upon  its  place  in  Burke's  political 
philosophy  or  its  technical  contribution  to  formal  argu 
mentative  writing,  while  the  notes  have  been  kept  as 
free  as  possible  from  the  minute  literary  parallelism  — 
not  seldom,  as  it  seems  to  me,  appreciably  overdone  — 

7 


8  Preface 

with  which  it  has  sometimes  been  thought  necessary  to 
weight  down  this  particular  piece  of  good  literature. 
In  other  words,  I  have  assumed  that  the  teachers  and 
students  who  will  use  this  book  will  be  prepared  to  do 
some  work,  especially  in  literary  and  rhetorical  lines, 
for  themselves,  and  will  not  care  to  have  their  intel 
lectual  food  too  much  predigested. 

Much  of  the  material  in  the  notes  was  collected  for 
other  purposes  long  before  I  ever  thought  of  editing 
the  Speech  on  Conciliation,  and  I  have  not  refrained 
from  using  it  because  other  editors  have  traversed 
somewhat  the  same  ground.  Certain  portions  of  the 
explanatory  matter  have  also  done  duty,  in  one  form  or 
another,  in  other  editions,  and  could  not  well  be  dis 
pensed  with  or  radically  changed  in  this.  A  consid 
erable  number  of  notes,  however,  chiefly  such  as  deal 
with  historical,  legal,  or  parliamentary  matters,  are  new. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  most  of  the  bibliographi 
cal  matter  is,  by  the  plan  of  the  series,  relegated  to  a 
supplementary  volume. 

The  text  is  that  of  the  second  edition,  but  with 
modernized  spelling,  capitalization,  and  punctuation. 

WILLIAM    MACDONALD. 
BROWN  UNIVERSITY. 


PROPERTY  OF 
DEPARTMENT  OF  DRAMATIC  ART 


INTRODUCTION 


I.  THE  COLONIES  AND  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY 

FROM  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  it  had 
been  the  policy  of  the  English  Parliament  to  regulate  the 
trade  of  the  American  colonies  with  primary  reference 
to  the  interests  of  British  merchants.  A  long  series  of 
statutes,  known  collectively  as  the  Navigation  Acts  or 
Acts  of  Trade,  were  eventually  passed  to  secure  these 
results.  The  acts  were  restrictive  in  that  they  debarred 
foreigners,  especially  the  Dutch,  from  participation  in 
the  colonial  carrying  trade,  but  they  were  not  oppressive, 
nor  did  they  on  the  whole  seriously  interfere  with  the 
development  of  colonial  commerce.  As  an  offset  to 
some  of  the  acts,  bounties  were  granted  on  the  pro 
duction  or  exportation  of  specified  articles,  as,  for 
example,  on  the  rice  of  Carolina.  Viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  present  day,  the  policy  of  England 
was  short-sighted.  It  was,  however,  in  accord  with  the 
prevailing  political  and  economic  theories  of  the  time, 
which  looked  upon  a  colony  as  a  possession  to  be  ex 
ploited  for  the  benefit  of  the  mother  country. 

From  the  beginning,  however,  the  Acts  of  Trade  had 
9 


io         Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 

been  more  or  less  systematically  evaded  by  the  colonies, 
particularly  by  New  England.  The  most  lucrative  com 
merce  of  New  England  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  was  with  the  French  and  Dutch  sugar- producing 
colonies  in  the  West  Indies,  and  this  trade,  though  for 
bidden  by  law,  continued  to  thrive,  and  in  no  small  part 
with  the  connivance  of  the  customs  officials.  From  time 
to  time  the  English  merchants  complained  to  the  Lords 
of  Trade  —  the  committee  of  the  Privy  Council  through 
which  the  affairs  of  the  colonies  were  administered  —  of 
their  loss  of  revenue,  but  political  corruption  in  England 
was  so  firmly  entrenched  that  no  effective  steps  toward 
reform  were  taken  for  some  time. 

The  capitulation  of  Montreal,  in  1761,  carried  with  it 
the  surrender  of  all  Canada,  and  by  the  treaty  of  Paris, 
in  1763,  which  closed  the  Seven  Years' War,  the  whole 
of  the  continental  possessions  of  France  in  North 
America  passed  into  the  control  of  Great  Britain.  The 
colonies  had  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost  during 
the  war,  and  many  of  them  had  incurred  large  debts, 
notwithstanding  the  reimbursement  by  Parliament  of  a 
considerable  part  of  their  expenses.  There  were  loud 
complaints  in  England,  however,  of  the  cost  of  the  war, 
and  particularly  of  the  increase  of  the  national  debt, 
now  amounting  to  about  ^140, 000,000.  The  immediate 
advantage  of  the  war,  in  freedom  from  French  aggres 
sion,  obviously  accrued  to  the  colonies  rather  than  to  the 
mother  country,  while  the  likelihood  of  a  renewal  of  the 
war  by  France  as  soon  as  a  convenient  opportunity  offered 


Introduction  n 

made  it  clear  that  what  had  been  won  must  also  be 
defended.  The  time  seemed  ripe,  therefore,  for  some 
reorganization  of  the  colonial  system,  with  a  view  to  the 
more  effective  control  of  the  colonies  by  Great  Britain. 

When,  in  February,  1763,  Charles  Townshend  became 
First  Lord  of  Trade  in  the  brief  ministry  of  Lord  Bute, 
it  was  announced  that  requisitions  on  the  colonial  assem 
blies  were  to  give  place  to  taxes  laid  by  Parliament,  that 
.colonial  governors  and  judges  were  thereafter  to  be  paid 
by  the  Crown  instead  of  by  the  colonies,  and  that  a  small 
standing  army  was  to  be  maintained  in  America  at 
colonial  expense.  Grenville,  who  succeeded  Bute  as 
prime  minister  in  April,  had  been  one  of  the  Secretaries 
of  State  in  the  previous  administration,  and  was  especially 
well  informed  in  regard  to  colonial  matters.  He  resolved 
to  put  an  end  to  American  smuggling,  the  extent  of 
which  had  greatly  increased  during  the  war.  "The 
Commissioners  of  Customs  were  ordered  at  once  to  their 
posts.  Several  new  revenue  officers  were  appointed  with 
more  rigid  rules  for  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  The 
Board  of  Trade  issued  a  circular  to  the  colonies  represent 
ing  that  the  revenue  had  not  kept  pace  with  the  increasing 
commerce,  and  did  not  yield  more  than  one-quarter  of 
the  cost  of  collection,  and  requiring  that  illicit  commerce 
should  be  suppressed,  and  that  proper  support  should  be 
given  to  the  customhouse  officials.  English  ships  of  war 
were  at  the  same  time  stationed  off  the  American  coast 
for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  smugglers."  l 

1  Lecky,  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  vol.  iii,  p.  334. 


12          Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 

The  next  step  was  the  passage  of  a  new  Act  of  Trade. 
An  act  of  1733,  commonly  known  as  the  Molasses  Act, 
imposing  prohibitory  duties  on  the  sugar  and  molasses  of 
the  French  West  Indies  in  the  interest  of  the  English 
sugar  colonies,  had  been  generally  disregarded.  That 
act  was  now  revived,  though  with  reduced  duties,  and 
a  new  act  passed  laying  duties  on  sugar,  indigo,  coffee, 
wines,  linens,  and  other  articles  imported  into  the 
colonies,  and  restricting  to  Great  Britain  the  colonial 
export  trade  in  lumber  and  iron.  The  receipts  from 
these  new  duties  were  to  be  "disposed  of  by  Parliament, 
towards  defraying  the  necessary  expenses  of  defending, 
protecting,  and  securing  the  British  colonies  and  planta 
tions  in  America."  At  the  same  time,  however,  bounties 
were  granted  on  American  hemp  and  rice,  and  the  whale 
fishery  was  thrown  open  to  colonial  participation  without 
restriction. 

The  third  part  of  Grenville's  scheme  was  a  Stamp  Act. 
Stamp  duties  had  long  been  familiar  in  England,  but 
Grenville  moved  slowly,  and  apparently  with  reluctance. 
in  extending  the  system  to  America.  In  March,  1764, 
the  proposed  introduction  of  a  stamp  bill  was  announced 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  but  the  matter  was  then  laid 
over  until  the  next  session  in  order  that  the  colonies 
might,  if  they  chose,  suggest  some  method  more  agree 
able  to  them  of  raising  the  revenue  which  had  been 
determined  upon. 

When  the  news  of  the  proposed  legislation  for  the 
colonies  reached  America,  it  everywhere  occasioned  pro- 


Introduction  13 

found  apprehension.  Whatever  the  theoretical  right  of 
Parliament  to  tax  the  colonies  might  be,  that  right  had 
not  in  fact  been  exercised  thus  far.  The  Acts  of  Trade 
had  had  for  their  object  the  regulation  of  colonial  com 
merce,  and  although  at  times  vexatiously  restrictive,  had 
not  been  on  principle  objected  to.  The  proposal  to  tax 
the  colonies  directly  by  act  of  Parliament,  however, 
seemed  to  the  colonies,  accustomed  as  they  were  to  be 
taxed  only  by  their  representative  assemblies,  not  only 
unwarranted  but  also  highly  dangerous.  The  purposes 
for  which  the  proceeds  of  the  new  taxes  were  to  be  used, 
also,  were  not  acceptable.  The  colonies  had  the  tradi 
tional  English  dread  of  a  standing  army,  however  small 
or  apparently  necessary,  while  the  payment  of  the  salaries 
of  governors  and  judges  from  the  imperial  treasury 
instead  of  from  the  treasury  of  the  colony  would,  it  was 
feared,  by  increasing  the  independence  of  those  officials, 
diminish  their  sense  of  responsibility  to  the  people  and 
enable  them,  if  they  chose,  to  override  the  wishes  of  the 
assemblies. 

There  was  no  agreement  among  the  colonies,  however, 
as  to  the  way  in  which  the  required  revenue  should  be 
raised,  while  protests  were  made  against  the  raising  of  the 
revenue  at  all.  Grenville,  accordingly,  brought  in  and 
carried  the  Stamp  Act.  There  were  remonstrances  from 
London  merchants  and  protests  from  several  of  the 
colonial  agents,  but  there  was  no  effective  opposition  in 
Parliament.  The  estimated  revenue  from  the  act  was 
;£ 1 00,000.  The  dispatch  to  America  of  such  troops  as 


14          Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 

might  be  deemed  necessary  was  further  authorized,  and 
a  Quartering  Act  passed  to  provide  for  their  accommo 
dation. 

The  attitude  of  the  colonies  was  at  first  that  of  passive 
resistance,  but  before  long  the  growing  opposition  led 
to  numerous  outbreaks  of  violence,  directed  particularly 
against  the  stamp  distributors.  In  October,  1765,  a 
Stamp  Act  Congress,  representing  nine  colonies,  met  in 
New  York  and  adopted  resolutions  declaring  against  the 
right  of  Parliament  to  tax  the  colonies  without  their  con 
sent.  When  the  first  of  November,  the  date  on  which 
the  act  was  to  go  into  effect,  arrived,  there  were  no 
stamps  to  be  had.  Fortunately,  events  in  England  pre 
pared  the  way  for  a  repeal  of  an  act  that  obviously  could 
not  be  enforced.  In  July  the  Grenville  ministry  went  out 
of  office.  Rockingham,  who  succeeded  as  prime  min 
ister,  was  friendly  to  America,  and  on  the  eighteenth  of 
March,  1 766,  the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed.  Accompany 
ing  the  act  of  repeal,  however,  was  a  so-called  Declara 
tory  Act,  asserting  the  right  of  Parliament  to  bind  the 
colonies  by  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

Events  were  to  show  that  the  Declaratory  Act  was  not, 
as  many  affected  to  believe,  a  mere  empty  assertion  to 
save  the  dignity  of  Parliament.  The  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act  caused  great  rejoicing,  but  the  political  conditions  in 
England  were  disquieting.  Grenville  and  his  followers 
refused  to  be  reconciled,  while  George  III,  who  had  no 
toriously  interfered  with  his  ministers  during  the  debates 
on  the  repeal,  was  dissatisfied  and  chagrined.  Rocking- 


Introduction  15 

ham  was  marked  for  removal,  and  in  July  was  dismissed, 
a  ministry  headed  by  the  Duke  of  Grafton  succeeding, 
but  with  Pitt,  whom  the  king  had  won  by  assurances  and 
blandishments,  as  the  real  head  of  affairs.  Virtuous  as 
Pitt's  own  motives  undoubtedly  were,  his  course  at  this 
time  has  generally  been  regarded  as  the  great  mistake 
of  his  political  career. 

Early  in  1767  the  landed  gentry  secured  the  passage 
of  an  act  reducing  the  land  tax.  It  was  generally  assumed 
that  the  deficiency  of  revenue  thus  caused  would  be  made 
good  from  America.  Pitt,  now  Earl  of  Chatham,  was 
incapacitated  by  illness,  and  the  actual  control  of  minis 
terial  policy  was  assumed  by  Charles  Townshend,  who 
had  already  usurped  it.  Townshend  brought  forward 
four  bills  relating  to  America,  all  of  which  became  law 
by  the  first  of  July.  The  first  prohibited  the  New  York 
Assembly  from  legislating  until  it  had  fully  complied  with 
the  provisions  of  the  Quartering  Act.  The  second  aimed 
to  improve  the  colonial  customs  service.  The  third  pro 
posed  to  raise  an  American  revenue  by  the  imposition  of 
import  duties,  the  proceeds  to  be  applied  to  paying  the 
salaries  of  judicial  and  civil  officers  and  defraying  the 
expenses  of  defending  the  colonies.  The  estimated  an 
nual  revenue  from  this  act  was  ^40,000.  The  fourth 
act  reduced  the  duties  on  tea.  Townshend  died  before 
the  acts  went  into  effect,  and  the  responsibility  for  their 
enforcement  passed  to  his  successor. 

The  news  of  the  passage  of  the  Townshend  acts  revived 
in  America  the  earnest  discussion  of  the  right  of  Parlia- 


1 6          Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 

ment  to  tax  the  colonies,  which  had  been  first  awakened 
by  the  Stamp  Act.  The  first  attempt  to  combat  the  acts 
was  by  means  of  agreements  not  to  import  the  articles  on 
which  duties  were  laid,  and  to  encourage  domestic  manu 
factures.  The  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives 
went  further,  and  in  February,  1768,  in  a  circular  letter 
to  the  other  colonies,  entered  its  protest,  in  dignified  but 
earnest  language,  against  the  claim  to  tax  the  colonies 
by  parliamentary  authority,  and  the  proposed  payment  of 
judges  and  civil  officers  by  the  Crown.  The  replies  of  the 
other  colonies  were  favourable.  When  the  circular  letter 
became  known  in  England,  however,  it  was  bitterly 
denounced,  and  Lord  Hillsborough,  Secretary  of  State  for 
the  Colonies,  in  a  letter  to  the  colonial  governors,  called 
upon  them  to  use  their  utmost  influence  to  prevent  its 
approval  by  the  assemblies,  and  in  case  the  assemblies 
persisted,  to  prorogue  or  dissolve  them.  The  Massachu 
setts  House  of  Representatives  was  also  called  upon  to 
rescind  the  resolution  by  which  the  circular  letter  was 
authorized.  By  a  vote  of  92  to  17  the  House  refused 
to  rescind,  whereupon  the  General  Court  was  dissolved, 
Similar  dissolutions  took  place  also  in  other  colonies. 

In  September,  1768,  two  British  regiments  from  Halifax 
arrived  at  Boston  and  were  quartered  in  the  town.  On 
the  fifteenth  of  December  an  address  to  the  king  was 
moved  in  the  House  of  Lords,  urging  that  immediate 
steps  be  taken  to  apprehend  the  persons  responsible  for 
the  late  disorders  in  Boston,  —  particularly  those  con 
nected  with  the  seizure  of  John  Hancock's  sloop  Liberty 


Introduction  17 

for  smuggling,  —  with  a  view  to  sending  them  to  England 
for  trial,  under  the  alleged  authority  of  a  statute  passed 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII,  for  the  trial  of  treasons  com 
mitted  out  of  the  kingdom.  Nothing  yet  done  or  threat 
ened  so  alarmed  the  colonies  as  this  monstrous  proposition. 
The  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  protested  strongly  against 
the  proposed  action  as  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  right  of 
Englishmen  to  be  tried  by  a  jury  of  the  vicinage  and 
according  to  the  established  course  of  the  common  law. 
For  passing  these  resolutions  the  House  was  dissolved, 
but  the  members  met  and  adopted  a  non-importation 
agreement. 

It  was  evident  that  the  second  attempt  to  tax  America 
had  failed.  In  April,  1769,  Thomas  Pownall,  formerly 
governor  of  Massachusetts  and  now  a  member  of  Parlia 
ment,  showed  that  the  receipts  from  the  Revenue  Act, 
which  Townshend  had  estimated  at  ^"40,000,  had  been 
for  the  first  year  less  than  ^16,000,  of  which  all  but  ^295 
had  been  absorbed  by  the  expenses  of  the  new  system  of 
customs  administration  ;  while  the  extraordinary  military 
expenses  in  America  for  the  same  period  amounted  to 
^"170,000.  In  January,  1770,  the  Grafton  ministry  fell, 
and  Lord  North,  who  was  to  pilot  the  affairs  of  England 
through  the  next  twelve  years  of  storm  and  stress,  took 
the  helm.  In  March  the  duties  imposed  by  the  Town 
shend  Revenue  Act,  except  that  on  tea,  were  repealed, 
the  duty  on  tea  being  retained  as  an  assertion  of  the  right 
of  Parliament  to  tax  the  colonies  —  "a  right,"  said  North, 
"  he  would  contend  for  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life." 

BURKE   ON    CONCILIATION  —  2 


1 8          Burke's  Speech  on   Conciliation 

The  alarm  and  resentment  of  the  colonies  at  the  arbi 
trary  course  of  Parliament  were  greatly  increased  by  the 
high-handed  proceedings  in  the  Wilkes  case.  John  Wilkes, 
a  "  worthless  demagogue,"  though  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  had  published  in  No.  45  of  the  North  Briton 
a  severe  criticism  of  the  royal  address  transmitting  to 
Parliament  the  treaty  of  Paris,  in  1 763.  A  general  war 
rant  was  issued  for  the  apprehension  of  all  persons  con 
cerned  in  the  publication  of  the  offensive  newspaper. 
Wilkes,  pleading  his  privilege  as  a  member  of  Parliament, 
was  released,  and  the  court  shortly  declared  general  war 
rants  illegal ;  but  the  House  voted  No.  45  a  libel,  and 
Wilkes  was  expelled.  A  coarse  poem  written  by  Wilkes 
was  also  voted  a  libel  and  a  breach  of  privilege  by  the 
House  of  Lords.  Wilkes  fled  to  the  Continent,  and  in 
February,  1764,  was  outlawed.  In  1768,  however,  he 
returned,  and  in  the  general  election  of  that  year  came 
forward  as  a  champion  of  parliamentary  reform.  Though 
still  an  outlaw,  the  voters  of  Middlesex  returned  him  to 
Parliament.  The  old  sentence  of  outlawry  was  set  aside 
by  Lord  Mansfield  as  illegal,  but  Wilkes  was  immediately 
arrested  under  the  old  charge  of  libel,  and  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  for  twenty-two  months  and  a  fine  of  ^1000. 
Further,  the  House  of  Commons  again  expelled  him. 
The  voters  of  Middlesex  immediately  re-elected  him,  but 
the  House  set  the  election  aside  as  invalid.  A  third 
election  gave  Wilkes  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the 
votes,  but  the  Commons  seated  his  opponent.  A  grave 
constitutional  question,  involving  the  right  of  the  House 


Introduction  19 

of  Commons  to  ride  roughshod  over  the  electors,  was 
thus  raised.  Petitions  poured  into  the  House,  and  Wilkes, 
now  a  popular  hero,  was  chosen  an  alderman  of  London. 
These  events,  clearly  indicative  of  the  arbitrary  temper 
of  Parliament  and  king,  were  closely  followed  in  America, 
where  they  coincided  with  the  opposition  to  the  Town- 
shend  acts  ;  and  the  sympathy  of  the  colonists  was  shown 
by  the  addresses  and  presents  which  they  sent  to  Wilkes 
in  prison. 

The  two  or  three  years  following  the  repeal  of  the 
Townshend  Revenue  Act  saw  a  general  subsidence  of  the 
excitement  in  America.  The  Boston  massacre,  in  March, 
1770,  greatly  imbittered  popular  feeling  for  a  time  in 
Massachusetts,  and  made  that  colony  more  than  ever  the 
leader  of  the  colonial  resistance,;  but  with  reasonable 
moderation  on  the  part  of  the  colonies  and  the  exercise 
of  common  sense  on  the  part  of  the  king  and  his  minis 
ters,  the  outlook  was  unquestionably  favourable  to  peace. 
In  1773,  however,  all  the  slumbering  ill-feeling  and  irri 
tation  between  Massachusetts  and  the  mother  country 
was  suddenly  fanned  into  flame  by  the  publication  of  the 
Hutchinson  letters.  Some  letters  written  by  Hutchinson, 
before  he  became  governor  of  Massachusetts,  but  while 
he  was  occupying  other  important  political  offices,  to  a 
private  correspondent  in  England,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Franklin.  The  letters,  "  written  with  the  perfect  freedom 
of  confidential  intercourse,"  l  contained  passages  reflect 
ing  on  the  motives  and  aims  of  the  popular  leaders  in 

1  Lecky,  vol.  iv,  p.  413. 


2O          Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 

Massachusetts,  and  expressing  the  hope  that  the  connex 
ion  between  the  colonies  and  Great  Britain  might  not  be 
broken.  Franklin,  who  at  once  saw  the  political  impor 
tance  of  the  letters,  sent  them  to  Massachusetts  with  the 
stipulation  that  they  should  not  be  printed  and  should 
be  eventually  returned.  Notwithstanding  the  stipulation, 
however,  the  letters  were  published.  The  Massachusetts 
House  of  Representatives  shortly  petitioned  for  Hutchin- 
son's  recall.  In  England,  where  the  tide  was  now  setting 
strongly  against  America,  Franklin,  who  had  taken  pains 
to  defend  his  part  in  the  transaction,  was  dismissed  from 
his  office  of  postmaster-general  for  North  America. 

The  climax  of  colonial  opposition,  short  of  open  war, 
was  reached  in  the  resistance,  during  the  fall  of  1773,  to 
the  importation  of  tea  through  the  agency  of  the  East 
India  Company.  Here,  as  before,  resistance  was  based, 
not  on  the  amount  of  the  tax,  but  on  the  principle  which 
the  payment  of  any  tax  levied  on  the  colonies  by  author 
ity  of  Parliament  involved.  English  public  opinion,  im 
perfectly  aware  of  the  merits  of  the  dispute,  but  tired  of 
colonial  disorder  on  the  one  hand  and  ministerial  vacilla 
tion  on  the  other,  was  in  favour  of  compelling  the  turbulent 
colonies  to  submit.  Naturally  Massachusetts,  as  the  chief 
offender,  was  now  selected  as  the  chief  victim.  Between 
the  last  of  March  and  the  end  of  June,  1774,  three  drastic 
coercive  acts  were  passed.  The  Boston  Port  Act  closed 
the  port  of  Boston  to  commerce,  save  in  foods,  and  trans 
ferred  the  customs  business  to  Salem.  The  Massachusetts 
Government  Act  so  altered  the  charter  of  the  colony  as 


Introduction  21 

to  provide  for  the  appointment  of  councillors  and  judicial 
officers  by  the  governor,  and  the  choice  of  jurors  by  the 
sheriffs,  while  town  meetings,  save  for  the  election  of  offi 
cers  and  sheriffs,  were  interdicted.  The  Administration 
of  Justice  Act  provided  for  the  trial  in  England  or  in 
another  colony  of  any  person  indicted  in  Massachusetts 
for  murder  or  other  capital  crime  because  of  some  act 
committed  by  him  in  the  enforcement  of  law,  in  case 
a  fair  trial  could  not  be  had  in  Massachusetts.  A 
new  Quartering  Act  was  also  passed  "  to  facilitate  the 
establishment  of  a  temporary  military  government  in 
America." 

The  Boston  Port  Act  went  into  effect  on  the  first  day 
of  June.  On  the  seventeenth,  the  Massachusetts  House 
of  Representatives  issued  a  call  for  a  congress  of  the  col 
onies,  to  meet  in  Philadelphia  on  the  first  of  September. 
Delegates  from  twelve  colonies  appeared  in  response  to 
the  summons.  Petitions  to  the  king  and  the  people  of 
Great  Britain,  and  a  declaration  of  the  rights  and  griev 
ances  of  the  colonies  were  drawn  up,  and  an  agreement, 
known  as  the  "Association,"  pledging  the  signers  to 
nearly  complete  commercial  non-intercourse  with  Great 
Britain,  was  adopted.  In  Massachusetts,  events  moved 
rapidly  toward  the  inevitable  crisis.  The  General  Court 
having  been  dissolved,  a  provincial  congress  was  formed 
in  its  stead,  and  by  common  consent  assumed  direction 
of  affairs.  Arms  and  military  supplies  were  collected  and 
the  militia  organized.  Similar  preparations  for  forcible 
resistance,  should  that  prove  necessary,  were  made  in 


22          Burke's   Speech  on   Conciliation 

other  colonies,  while  committees  of  correspondence  were 
unceasingly  active  in  stimulating  public  sentiment  and 
organizing  opposition. 

In  September,  1774,  while  the  aspect  of  American 
affairs  was  gravely  serious,  Parliament  was  dissolved.  The 
result  of  the  general  election  was  a  virtually  complete  en^ 
dorsement  of  the  king  and  the  ministerial  policy.  The 
new  Parliament  met  on  the  thirtieth  of  November,  but  for 
some  weeks  nothing  of  importance  was  done.  Then,  on 
the  nineteenth  of  January,  1775,  tne  petition  to  the  king 
drawn  up  by  the  Continental  Congress,  together  with  volu 
minous  papers  relating  to  affairs  in  the  colonies,  was  laid 
before  Parliament.  Although  a  majority  of  the  members 
were  undoubtedly  opposed  to  America  and  its  claims, 
the  American  cause  at  once  found  earnest  and  eloquent 
advocates.  The  Earl  of  Chatham  brought  forward  a  plan 
of  conciliation,  and  defended  it  in  a  great  speech,  but  the 
bill  was  not  even  accorded  a  second  reading.  An  address 
pledging  support  to  the  king  in  his  efforts  to  put  down 
the  rebellion  was  agreed  to,  notwithstanding  the  protest 
of  eighteen  lords.  On  the  tenth  of  February  Lord  North 
moved  for  leave  to  bring  in  a  bill  to  restrain  the  trade 
and  commerce  of  the  New  England  colonies  to  Great 
Britain,  Ireland,  and  the  West  Indies.  By  a  vote  of  261 
to  85  the  motion  was  carried,  and  on  the  eighth  of  March 
the  bill  passed  the  House  of  Commons  without  a  division. 

It  was  on  the  twenty-second  of  March,  while  the  New 
England  Restraining  Bill  was  before  the  lords,  that  Burke, 
who  had  already  protested  against  the  Restraining  Bill, 


Introduction  23 

moved  in  the  House  of  Commons  a  series  of  resolutions, 
in  whose  support  he  made  his  great  speech  on  Concilia 
tion  with  America. 


II.  THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  BURKE 

Edmund  Burke  was  born  in  Dublin,  probably  on  the 
twelfth  of  January,  1729.  In  1743  he  entered  Trinity 
College,  taking  his  bachelor's  degree  there  five  years  later. 
He  seems  to  have  read  a  good  deal  during  his  college 
days,  but  otherwise  his  career  as  a  student  was  not  dis 
tinguished.  The  details  of  his  life  for  the  next  few  years 
are  obscure,  but  he  went  to  London  in  1750  and  began 
the  study  of  law,  though  he  was  never  called  to  the  bar. 
A  literary  life  had  strong  attractions  for  him,  superior, 
apparently,  to  those  of  the  legal  profession,  but  of  the 
particular  direction  of  his  studies  we  know  nothing.  In 
the  winter  of  1756  he  married. 

Burke's  first  essays  in  authorship  were  his  Vindication 
of  Natural  Society  and  A  Philosophical  Inquiry  into  the 
Origin  of  our  Ideas  of  the  Sublime  and  Beautiful,  both 
published  in  1756.  These  were  followed  by  an  Account 
of  the  European  Settlements  in  America,  not,  probably, 
entirely  of  his  own  composition.  In  1759  began  the 
publication  of  the  Annual  Register,  to  which  Burke  for 
many  years  contributed  the  account  of  political  events. 

In  1761  Burke  accompanied  Hamilton,  secretary  to 
Lord  Halifax,  to  Ireland  in  some  official  capacity,  and 
in  1763  was  granted  a  pension  of  ,£300  a  year  from  the 


24          Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 

Irish  treasury ;  but  his  refusal  to  devote  the  whole  of  his 
time  to  his  patron  led  him,  at  the  expiration  of  two  years, 
to  relinquish  both  office  and  emoluments.  When  Rock- 
ingham  became  prime  minister,  however,  in  1765,  Burke 
became  his  private  secretary,  and  the  friendship  thus 
formed  continued  throughout  Rockingham's  life.  Just 
before  the  end  of  the  year  he  obtained  a  seat  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  In  the  discussion  of  American 
affairs  then  going  on  Burke  at  once  took  part,  and  two 
speeches  which  he  made  in  favour  of  the  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act  and  the  passage  of  the  Declaratory  Act 
attracted  much  attention,  and  won  high  commendation 
from  Pitt  and  Dr.  Johnson.  It  should  be  noted  that 
Burke's  opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act  was  based,  not  on 
a  denial  of  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  the  colonies, 
but  on  the  ground  that  it  was  inexpedient  to  assert  the 
right  under  the  circumstances.  From  this  position  Burke 
never  departed. 

In  the  great  excitement  over  the  Middlesex  election 
Burke  championed  the  cause  of  Wilkes,  as  he  did  the 
cause  of  the  printers  who  were  proceeded  against  for 
reporting  the  debates  of  the  House  of  Commons.  As  a 
politician  he  was  active  in  his  efforts  to  keep  together  the 
so-called  Rockingham  Whigs,  "  the  most  upright,  con 
sistent  and  disinterested  body  of  men  then  in  public 
life."  1  A  pamphlet  entitled  Ttwughts  on  the  Cause  of 
the  Present  Discontents,  published  in  1770,  reviewed  in 
a  masterly  way  the  whole  course  of  policy  which  had 

1  Morley,  Burke,  p.  62. 


Introduction  25 

brought  about   the  existing   disordered   conditions.     In 

1771  Burke  was  made  colonial  agent  for  New  York.     In 

1772  he  was  urged  to  go  out  to  India  as  head  of  a  com 
mission  to  examine  the  affairs  of  the  East  India  Com 
pany,  of  which  he  had  been  one  of  the  proprietors,  but 
he  declined.     The  next  year  he  went   to  France,  where 
he  had  exceptional  opportunities  to  observe  at  first  hand 
some  of  the   social  and   intellectual    conditions   out   of 
which  sprang  the  French  Revolution. 

In  the  general  election  of  1774,  Burke  was  at  first 
chosen  for  the  small  borough  of  Malton,  but  was  shortly 
returned  from  Bristol,  then  the  second  city  in  commercial 
importance  in  England.  For  the  next  eight  years  he  was 
allied  with  Fox  in  opposition  to  the  policy  of  Lord  North, 
the  prime  minister.  On  the  nineteenth  of  April,  1774, 
while  the  proposed  repeal  of  the  tea  duty  was  under  dis 
cussion,  Burke,  in  a  great  speech  on  American  Taxation, 
urged  the  repeal  of  the  duty.  A  repeal  would  not,  he 
argued,  lead  to  demands  from  the  colonies  for  further 
concessions,  nor  was  the  preamble  of  the  Townshend 
Revenue  Act,  which  declared  it  to  be  "  expedient "  that 
a  revenue  should  be  raised  in  America,  an  obstacle  to 
repeal.  He  pointed  out  also  that  Hillsborough's  letter  to 
the  governors  was  a  surrender,  in  the  name  of  the  king 
and  the  ministry,  of  the  principle  of  taxing  the  colonies, 
and  he  reviewed  at  length  the  history  of  American  tax 
ation.  The  effect  of  the  speech  upon  those  who  heard 
it  was  very  great.  The  public,  however,  were  not  ad 
mitted  to  the  House  to  hear  the  debate,  and  did  not 


26          Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 

have   the   text  of  the  speech   until   its  publication   by 
Burke  about  a  year  later. 


III.  THE  SPEECH  ON  CONCILIATION 

The  speech  on  Conciliation,  following  so  soon  after 
the  speech  on  American  taxation,  might  naturally  be 
expected  to  repeat  much  of  what  had  been  already  said. 
On  the  contrary,  however,  it  is  a  new  and  fresh  treatment 
of  the  American  situation,  arguing  with  consummate 
force  of  logic,  rhetoric,  and  eloquence,  but  in  a  temperate 
and  conciliatory  tone,  the  claims  of  the  colonies  to  a 
share  in  the  privileges  and  spirit  of  the  British  constitu 
tion.  Later  speeches,  particularly  the  speech  on  the 
Nabob  of  Arcot's  Debts,  contain  descriptive  passages  of 
greater  vividness,  but  in  logical  skill,  rhetorical  finish, 
effective  grouping  of  facts,  mingled  simplicity  and  or- 
nateness  of  style,  winning  manner,  and  fervent  appeal, 
the  speech  on  Conciliation  marks  a  perfection  beyond 
which  Burke  did  not  go. 

The  speech  falls  naturally  into  four  parts.  In  the  first, 
or  introductory  section,  Burke,  after  noting  the  serious 
ness  of  the  question  before  the  House  and  the  varying 
attitude  of  Parliament  from  time  to  time  toward  it,  pro 
poses  to  bring  about  peace  by  the  simple  plan  of  removing 
the  existing  grounds  of  difference.  Such  action,  indeed, 
it  is  pointed  out,  is  foreshadowed  by  the  action  of  the 
House  in  accepting  Lord  North's  resolution,  and  is 
justified  on  the  broad  ground  that  England,  as  the  greater 


Introduction  27 

power,  ought  to  be  the  first  to  offer  concessions.  The 
two  leading  questions  before  the  House,  therefore,  are, 
first,  whether  there  ought  to  be  concession,  and,  second, 
what  trie  concession  ought  to  be.  The  determination  of 
these  questions  depends,  not  upon  abstract  ideas  of  right 
or  general  theories  of  government,  but  upon  the  particu 
lar  nature  and  circumstances  of  America. 

With  this  introduction,  Burke  enters  upon  an  account 
of  the  present  condition  of  America,  particularly  as  re 
gards  its  population,  its  trade,  its  agriculture,  its  fisheries, 
and  the  character  of  its  people.  It  will  be  noted  that, 
disregarding  strict  logical  arrangement,  the  vivid  descrip 
tion  of  American  character  is  preceded  by  an  argumenta 
tive  passage  against  the  use  of  force  —  a  passage  whose 
more  logical  place  would  be  in  connection  with  the  third 
part  of  the  speech. 

The  ground  having  been  thus  prepared,  Burke  then 
comes  directly  to  the  main  question  of  how  to  deal  with 
America.  He  points  out  that  the  spirit  which  prevails 
in  the  colonies  can  be  dealt  with  in  but  three  ways :  first, 
changing  the  spirit  by  removing  its  causes  ;  second,  prose- 
cuting  it  as  criminal ;  and  third,  yielding  to  it  as  neces 
sary,  that  is,  giving  up  the  pretended  right  of  taxation. 
The  first  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  The  second  is 
either  impracticable  or  inexpedient.  The  third,  there 
fore,  is  necessary,  and  the  only  one  which  will  satisfy 
colonial  complaints.  It  is  further  pointed  out  that  such 
.concession  will  not  lead  to  demands  for  others,  and 
will  be  based  on  historical  precedents  which  show  its 


28          Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 

practicability,  and  stamp  the  present  position  of  the 
ministry  as  erroneous. 

In  conclusion,  the  resolutions  embodying  the  plan 
already  set  forth  are  submitted,  their  provisions  dis 
cussed  in  detail,  the  objections  to  them  answered,  and 
Lord  North's  plan  criticized  by  comparison. 

The  speech  on  Conciliation  affords  a  good  illustration 
of  Burke's  political  creed  and  his  characteristics  as  a 
writer.  Burke  reckoned  himself  a  Whig,  as  the  term  was 
then  understood  in  England,  but  his  political  opinions 
were  such  as  would  class  him  now  as  a  Conservative.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eigh 
teenth  century  it  was  the  Tories,  and  not  the  Whigs,  who 
were  the  progressive  or  reform  party  in  England.  Burke, 
who  always  insisted  that  he  was  politically  consistent, 
favoured  reform,  but  not  such  as  would  endanger  the 
ancient  constitution  of  the  government.  He  abhorred 
abstract  theories  and  "  metaphysical  generalities "  in 
politics,  and  insisted  that  the  guiding  question  for  the 
statesman  ought  to  be,  not  so  much  whether  a  proposed 
action  was  right  in  law,  as  whether  it  was  expedient. 
For  democracy,  in  the  usual  eighteenth  century  sense, 
he  had  no  liking,  and  never  ceased  to  denounce  its  pre 
tensions.  At  the  same  time,  his  enormous  wealth  of 
political  information  gave  to  his  outlook  a  broader  range 
than  that  of  most  of  his  contemporaries,  and  led  him  to 
trust  the  general  sense  of  mankind  as  more  reliable  than 
the  opinions  of  the  moment. 

To  the  student  who  approaches  Burke's  speeches  for 


Introduction  29 

the  first  time,  their  most  striking  literary  characteristic  is 
likely  to  seern  their  conversational  style.  "They  have 
always  the  air  of  a  spoken  appeal  from  man  to  man." 1 
As  compared  with  the  fashion  of  the  present  day,  the 
style  is  formal,  with  here  and  there  a  rhetorical  ornate- 
ness  which  would  now  be  thought  extravagant  and  over 
done.2  Burke  represents,  however,  a  period  of  transition 
from  the  formality  of  the  early  eighteenth  century  to  the 
greater  naturalness  of  the  nineteenth ;  and  while  his 
rhetoric,  like  his  thought,  is  often  gorgeous  or  grand,  it 
is  pervadingly  natural  and  suited  to  the  subject.  The 
preference  for  particular  rather  than  general  terms,3  the 
skilful  alternation  of  short  and  long  sentences,4  the  nu 
merous  and  carefully  contrived  figures  of  speech,5  the 
frequent  literary  allusions,  especially  to  the  Bible  and  the 
Greek  and  Latin  classics,  and  in  general  the  union 
of  forcibleness,  naturalness,  and  comprehensiveness  with 
brevity  and  compactness,6  are  further  characteristics  of 
which  the  speech  on  Conciliation  affords  numerous  illus 
trations. 

1  Burke,  Select  Works,  edited  by  Payne,  I,  xxxin. 

2  E.g.  the  reference  to  Lord  Bathurst,  p.  51. 

8  E.g .  the  passage  beginning  "In  large  bodies  the  circulation  of 
power,"  p.  64,  and  the  description  of  the  political  condition  of  Ireland, 
pp.  87,  88. 

4  Eg.  the  paragraphs  beginning,  "  First,  the  people  of  the  colonies," 
p.  58,  and,  "  Secondly,  it  is  an  experiment,"  p.  115. 

5  Z?.^.  the  account  of  Ireland,  pp.  87,  88,  and  the  passage  beginning, 
"  For  that  service,  for  all  service,"  p.  124. 

6  The  passage  beginning,  "  Sir,  here  is  the  repeated  acknowledg 
ment,"  p.  103,  is  a  good  specific  illustration  of  this  general  quality, 


30          Burke's  Speech  on   Conciliation 

On  the  other  hand,  while  Burke  was  a  great  orator,  he 
was  not  a  great  debater,  nor  did  his  speeches  carry  con 
viction  to  those  who  heard  them  as  forcibly  as  they  did 
to  those  who  read  them.  "  The  heavy  Quaker-like  figure, 
the  scratch  wig,  the  round  spectacles,  the  cumbrous  roll 
of  paper  which  loaded  Burke's  pocket," l  were  not  pre 
possessing.  Some  of  the  members  of  the  House  styled 
him  the  "  dinner-bell,"  and  the  speech  on  Conciliation, 
according  to  Erskine,  emptied  the  House,  though  every 
body  read  it  afterward.  His  intense  earnestness,  im 
passioned  manner,  awkward  gestures,  and  pronounced 
Irish  brogue,  coupled  with  not  the  best  of  temper  under 
opposition  or  criticism,  often,  especially  in  his  later  years, 
weakened  the  effect  of  what  he  said.  At  the  same  time, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  oratory  of  Burke  was  of 
a  kind  to  which  the  House  of  Commons  was  not  accus 
tomed,  and  which  violated  the  time-honoured  traditions  of 
public  speaking,  so  that  it  was  not  wholly  unnatural  that 
the  unfamiliar  manner  should  have  tended  to  obscure  the 
wisdom  of  what  was  being  said. 

IV.  BURKE'S  SUBSEQUENT  CAREER 

Burke's  subsequent  career,  though  of  the  highest  im 
portance  in  the  history  of  the  time,  must  be  briefly 
sketched.  The  speeches  on  America  had  established 
Burke's  reputation  as  an  orator  and  a  statesman,  and 
thereafter  whatever  he  said  or  wrote  was  sure  of  attention 

1  Green,  Short  History,  p.  770. 


Introduction  31 

even  from  those  who,  at  the  moment,  preferred  not  to 
listen  to  his  speeches.  Consistent  opposition  to  the 
policy  of  the  ministry  in  dealing  with  America  led  him  in 
1776,  together  with  others  of  his  party,  to  absent  himself 
from  the  House  when  American  affairs  were  under  dis 
cussion  ;  and  in  a  notable  Letter  to  the  Sheriffs  of  Bristol 
he  defended  his  course.  In  February,  1778,  however,  he 
made  a  great  speech  against  the  employment  of  Indians 
in  the  war  with  the  colonies.  In  1780  he  championed 
the  cause  of  economical  reform,  with  the  object  not  only 
of  reducing  expenditures,  but  also  of  so  reforming  the 
civil  service  as  to  put  a  stop  to  the  political  corruption 
through  which  the  House  of  Commons  was  still  largely 
controlled.  His  support  of  the  claims  of  Ireland  to 
more  liberal  commercial  treatment,  however,  offended  his 
Bristol  constituency,  and  in  the  election  of  1780  he  was 
defeated.  Through  the  influence  of  Rockingham  he 
was  shortly  returned  from  Malton.  When  Rockingham 
succeeded  North  as  prime  minister,  in  1782,  Burke  was 
made  paymaster  of  the  forces,  but  the  death  of  Rocking 
ham  and  the  elevation  of  Shelburne  brought  about  a  dis 
ruption  of  the  Whig  party,  for  which  Burke  was  largely 
responsible.  His  excessive  vehemence  in  debate  in 
creased,  and  annoying  interruptions  in  the  House  were 
frequent. 

The  formation  of  the  Coalition  ministry,  in  1783, 
brought  again  into  office  North,  Fox,  and  Burke.  A  bill 
for  administrative  reform  in  India  was  defended  by  Burke 
in  one  of  his  greatest  speeches,  but  to  no  purpose.  The 


j  2          Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 

Coalition  ministry  had  no  hold  on  the  people,  and  gave 
way  at  the  end  of  1783  to  that  of  William  Pitt,  who  con 
tinued  prime  minister  until  1801.  In  1785,  in  a  speech 
on  the  Nabob  of  Arcot's  Debts,  Burke  began  the  attack 
on  the  administration  of  the  East  India  Company  which 
culminated  in  the  charges  of  impeachment  against  War 
ren  Hastings.  The  trial  opened  in  1788,  and  after  drag 
ging  along  for  seven  years,  resulted  in  a  verdict  of  acquittal 
by  the  House  of  Lords.  In  the  meantime  he  had  pub 
lished,  in  1790,  his  Reflections  on  the  French  Revolution, 
in  which  he  attacked  the  revolution,  its  principles  and 
leaders,  with  the  utmost  vehemence,  and  pointed  out  the 
evils  which  he  was  convinced  must  flow  from  the  spread 
or  adoption  of  the  democratic  ideas  which  underlay  it. 
The  book  had,  for  the  time,  an  enormous  sale,  and  was 
eagerly  read  even  by  the  many  who  wholly  dissented  from 
its  views.  The  Reflections  is,  in  many  respects,  Burke's 
greatest  intellectual  achievement ;  its  criticisms  of  the 
revolutionary  programme  as  that  programme  was  formu 
lated  in  1 790  were  not  only  sound,  but  abundantly  borne 
out  by  the  event ;  but  Burke's  view  of  the  revolution  as  a 
political  rather  than  a  social  movement,  together  with  his 
insufficient  knowledge  of  the  subject,  distorted  his  esti 
mate  of  the  more  general  and  fundamental  issues  involved. 
The  work  divided  public  opinion  in  England,  seriously 
injured  the  Whigs,  and  created  a  strong  reaction  against 
revolutionary  ideas. 

Burke  continued  to  write  on  French  affairs,  but  although 
he  was  still  a  great  figure  and  a  great  name,  his  political 


Introduction  33 

influence  had  much  declined.  In  1791,  in  a  dramatic 
scene,  he  broke  finally  with  Fox  and  his  party,  and  stood 
alone.  High  ideals,  broad  views,  and  generous  impulses 
had  given  way  to  invective,  personal  denunciation,  and 
extravagant  declamation.  An  Appeal  from  the  New  to 
the  Old  Whigs  sought  to  bring  back  the  party  to  its  old 
position  ;  but  the  Letters  on  a  Regicide  Peace,  written  to 
urge  England  to  push  with  energy  the  war  with  France 
begun  in  1793,  while  showing  examples  of  Burke's  finest 
manner,  have  been  justly  characterized  as  "  deplorable." ] 
But  the  end  was  near.  The  death  of  his  only  son,  in 
1794,  was  a  blow  from  which  Burke  never  recovered. 
He  survived  the  loss  a  little  less  than  three  years,  dying 
on  the  ninth  of  July,  1797,  in  his  sixty-eighth  year. 

*  Morley,  Burke%  p.  199. 


BURKE  ON   CONCILIATION  —  3 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL    NOTE 

EDITIONS  of  Burke's  writings  were  published  in  Boston, 
in  1839,  in  9  volumes;  in  London,  in  1852  and  1898, 
in  8  and  12  volumes,  respectively;  and  in  Bohn's 
British  Classics,  1855-64,  in  8  volumes.  An  edition 
of  his  Select  Works,  in  3  volumes,  edited  by  E.  J. 
Payne,  is  published  in  the  Clarendon  Press  Series; 
this  edition  has  an  elaborate  introduction  and  valuable 
notes.  The  Speech  on  Conciliation  has  been  several 
times  published  separately  during  the  past  ten  years  in 
annotated  school  editions. 

The  best  compact  biography  of  Burke  is  that  by  John 
Morley  in  the  English  Men  of  Letters  series.  The  same 
author's  Edmund  Burke :  An  Historical  Study  is  of 
great  value.  The  article  "  Burke  "  in  the  Dictionary  of 
National  Biography,  Vol.  VII,  by  William  Hunt,  is  of  the 
first  importance  for  the  details  of  Burke's  life.  The  ear 
lier  biographies  by  Prior  (1854,  2  vols.)  and  Macknight 
(1858-60,  3  vols.)  are  larger  and  less  critical,  but  have 
not  been  superseded. 


34 


SPEECH 


OF 


EDMUND    BURKE,    ESQ. 


ON 


Moving  his    Resolutions 

FOR 

Conciliation  with  the  Colonies 

March  22,   1775 

THE    SECOND    EDITION 


LONDON 
PRINTED    FOR   J.    DODSLEY,   IN    PALL-MALL 

MDCCLXXV 


PROPERTY  OF 
DEPARTMENT  OF  DRAMATIC  AR1 


SPEECH  ON  CONCILIATION  WITH 
AMERICA 

I  HOPE,  Sir,  that  notwithstanding  the  austerity  of  the 
Chair,  your  good  nature  will  incline  you  to  some  degree 
of  indulgence  towards  human  frailty.  You  will  not  think 
it  unnatural  that  those  who  have  an  object  depending1 
which  strongly  engages  their  hopes  and  fears  should  be  5 
somewhat  inclined  to  superstition.  As  I  came  into  the 
House,  full  of  anxiety  about  the  event 2  of  my  motion,  I 
found,  to  my  infinite  surprise,  that  the  grand  penal  bill 
by  which  we  had  passed  sentence  on  the  trade  and  sus 
tenance  of  America  is  to  be  returned  to  us  from  the  other  10 
House.  I  do  confess,  I  could  not  help  looking  on  this 
event  as  a  fortunate  omen.  I  look  upon  it  as  a  sort  of 
providential  favour  by  which  we  are  put  once  more  in  pos 
session  of  our  deliberative  capacity,  upon  a  business  so 
very  questionable  in  its  nature,  so  very  uncertain  in  its  15 
issue.  By  the  return  of  this  bill,  which  seemed  to  have 
taken  its  flight  forever,  we  are  at  this  very  instant  nearly 
as  free  to  choose  a  plan  for  our  American  government 
as  we  were  on  the  first  day  of  the  session.  If,  Sir,  we 

1  Pending.  '2  Result. 

37 


38  Speech  on  Conciliation 

incline  to  the  side  of  conciliation,  we  are  not  at  all  em 
barrassed  (unless  we  please  to  make  ourselves  so)  by 
any  incongruous  mixture  of  coercion  and  restraint.  We 
are  therefore  called  upon,  as  it  were  by  a  superior  warn- 
5  ing  voice,  again  to  attend  to  America;  to. attend  to  the 
whole  of  it  together  ;  and  to  review  the  subject  with  an 
unusual  degree  of  care  and  calmness. 

Surely  it  is  an  awful  subject,  or  there  is  none  so  on 
this  side  of  the  grave.     When  I  first  had  the  honour  of  a 

10  seat  in  this  House,  the  affairs  of  that  continent  pressed 
themselves  upon  us  as  the  most  important  and  most  deli 
cate1  object  of  parliamentary  attention.  My  little  share 
in  this  great  deliberation  oppressed  me.  I  found  myself 
a  partaker  in  a  very  high  trust ;  and  having  no  sort  of 

15  reason  to  rely  on  the  strength  of  my  natural  abilities  for 
the  proper  execution  of  that  trust,  I  was  obliged  to  take 
more  than  common  pains  to  instruct  myself  in  everything 
which  relates  to  our  colonies.  I  was  not  less  under  the 
necessity  of  forming  some  fixed  ideas  concerning  the  gen- 

aoeral  policy  of  the  British  Empire.  Something  of  this  sort 
seemed  to  be  indispensable,  in  order,  amidst  so  vast  a 
fluctuation  of  passions  and  opinions,  to  concentre1'  my 
thoughts,  to  ballast  my  conduct,  to  preserve  me  from  be 
ing  blown  about  by  every  wind  of  fashionable  doctrine. 

25 1  really  did  not  think  it  safe  or  manly  to  have  fresh  prin 
ciples  to  seek  upon  every  fresh  mail  which  should  arrive 
from  America. 

At  that  period  I  had  the  fortune  to  find  myself  in  pei- 
1  Requiring  care  or  tact.  2  Concentrate. 


Speech  on   Conciliation  39 

feet  concurrence  with  a  large  majority  in  this  House. 
Bowing  under  that  high  authority,  and  penetrated  with 
the  sharpness  and  strength  of  that  early  impression,  I 
have  continued  ever  since,  without  the  least  deviation,  in 
my  original  sentiments.  Whether  this  be  owing  to  an  5 
obstinate  perseverance  in  error,  or  to  a  religious J  adher 
ence  to  what  appears  to  me  truth  and  reason,  it  is  in  your 
equity2  to  judge. 

Sir,  Parliament,  having  an  enlarged  view  of  objects, 
made,  during  this  interval,  more  frequent  changes  in  10 
their  sentiments  and  their  conduct  than  could  be  justified 
in  a  particular  person  upon  the  contracted  scale  of  private 
information.  But  though  I  do  not  hazard  anything  ap 
proaching  to  a  censure  on  the  motives  of  former  Par 
liaments  to  all  those  alterations,  one  fact  is  undoubted,  15 
—  that  under  them  the  state  of  America  has  been  kept  in 
continual  agitation.  Everything  administered  as  remedy 
to  the  public  complaint,3  if  it  did  not  produce,  was  at 
least  followed  by,  an  heightening  of  the  distemper ;  until 
by  a  variety  of  experiments  that'  important  country  has  20 
been  brought  into  her  present  situation  —  a  situation 
which  I  will  not  miscall,  which  I  dare  not  name,  which  I 
scarcely  know  how  to  comprehend  in  the  terms  of  any 
description. 

In  this  posture,  Sir,  things  stood  at  the  beginning  of  the  25 
session.      About  that  time  a  worthy  member4  of  great 
parliamentary  experience,  who  in  the  year  1766  filled  the 

1  Conscientious.  2  Impartiality. 

3  Disease.  4  Rose  Fuller. 


40  Speech  on  Conciliation 

Chair  of  the  American  Committee  with  much  ability, 
took  me  aside  and,  lamenting  the  present  aspect  of  our 
politics,  told  me  things  were  come  to  such  a  pass  that  our 
former  methods  of  proceeding  in  the  House  would  be  no 
5  longer  tolerated;  that  the  public  tribunal  (never  too  in 
dulgent  to  a  long  and  unsuccessful  opposition)  would  now 
scrutinize  our  conduct  with  unusual  severity ;  that  the 
very  vicissitudes  and  shiftings  of  ministerial  measures, 
instead  of  convicting  their  authors  of  inconstancy  and 

io  want  of  system*  would  be  taken  as  an  occasion  of  charg 
ing  us  with  a  predetermined  discontent  which  nothing 
could  satisfy,  whilst  we  accused l  every  measure  of  vigour 
as  cruel,  and  every  proposal  of  lenity  as  weak  and  irreso 
lute.  The  public,  he  said,  would  not  have  patience  to 

15  see  us  play  the  game  out  with  our  adversaries ;  we  must 
produce  our  hand  :  it  would  be  expected  that  those  who 
for  many  years  had  been  active  in  such  affairs  should 
show  that  they  had  formed  some  clear  and  decided  idea 
of  the  principles  of  colony  government,  and  were  capable 

20 of  drawing  out  something  like  a  platform2  of  the  ground 
which  might  be  laid  for  future  and  permanent  tranquillity. 
I  felt  the  truth  of  what  my  honourable  friend  repre 
sented;  but  I  felt  my  situation  too.  His  application 
might  have  been  made  with  far  greater  propriety  to  many 

25  other  gentlemen.  No  man  was,  indeed,  ever  better  dis 
posed  or  worse  qualified  for  such  an  undertaking  than 
myself.  Though  I  gave  so  far  into3  his  opinion  that  I 
immediately  threw  my  thoughts  into  a  sort  of  parliamen- 
1  Arraigned.  2  Plan,  outline.  3  Acquiesced  in. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  41 

tary  form,  I  was  by  no  means  equally  ready  to  produce1 
them.  It  generally  argues  some  degree  of  natural  impo 
tence  of  mind,  or  some  want  of  knowledge  of  the  world, 
to  hazard  plans  of  government  except  from  a  seat  of 
authority.  Propositions  are  made,  not  only  ineffectually,  5 
but  somewhat  disreputably,2  when  the  minds  of  men  are 
not  properly  disposed  for  their  reception ;  and  for  my 
part,  I  am  not  ambitious  of  ridicule,  not  absolutely  a 
candidate  for  disgrace. 

Besides,  Sir,  to  speak  the  plain  truth,  I  have  in  general  10 
no  very  exalted  opinion  of  the  virtue  of  paper3  govern 
ment,  nor  of  any  politics  in  which  the  plan  is  to  be  wholly 
separated  from    the    execution.     But  when   I   saw  that 
anger  and  violence  prevailed  every  day  more  and  more, 
and  that  things  were  hastening  towards  an  incurable  alien- 15 
ation  of  our  colonies,  I  confess  my  caution  gave  way.     I 
felt  this  as  one  of  those  few  moments  in  which  decorum 
yields  to  a  higher   duty.     Public   calamity  is  a  mighty 
leveller ;    and  there  are  occasions  when    any,  even   the 
slightest,  chance  of  doing  good  must  be  laid   hold    01120 
even  by  the  most  inconsiderable  person. 

To  restore  order  and  repose  to  an  empire  so  great  and 
so  distracted  as  ours,  is,  merely  in  the  attempt,  an  under 
taking  that  would  ennoble  the  flights  of  the  highest  genius 
and  obtain  pardon  for  the  efforts  of  the  meanest  under-  2, 
standing>>   Struggling  a  good  while  with  these  thoughts, 

1  Give  expression  to. 

2  With  injury  to  the  reputation  of  those  who  make  them. 

3  Agreed. upon,  but  not  carried  into  effect;   hence,  theoretical. 


42  Speech  on  Conciliation 

by  degrees  I  felt  myself  more  firm.  I  derived,  at  length, 
some  confidence  from  what  in  other  circumstances  usually 
produces  timidity.  I  grew  less  anxious,  even  from  the 
idea  of  my  own  insignificance.  For  judging  of  what  you 
5  are  by  what  you  ought  to  be,  I  persuaded  myself  that  you 
would  not  reject  a  reasonable  proposition,  because  it  had 
nothing  but  its  reason  to  recommend  it.  On  the  other 
hand,  being  totally  destitute  of  all  shadow  of  influence, 
natural  or  adventitious,  I  was  very  sure  that  if  my  propo- 

iosition  were  futile  or  dangerous,  if  it  were  weakly  con 
ceived  or  improperly  timed,  there  was  nothing  exterior 
to  it,  of  power  to  awe,  dazzle  or  delude  you.  You  will 
see  it  just  as  it  is,  and  you  will  treat  it  just  as  it  deserves. 
The  proposition  is  peace.  Not  peace  through  the 

15  medium  of  war  ;  not  peace  to  be  hunted  through  the 
labyrinth  of  intricate  and  endless  negotiations  ;  not  peace 
to  arise  out  of  universal  discord  fomented  from  principle 
in  all  parts  of  the  empire ;  not  peace  to  depend  on  the 
juridical1  determination  of  perplexing  questions,  or  the 

20  precise  marking  the  shadowy  boundaries  of  a  complex 
government.  It  is  simple  peace,  sought  in  its  natural 
course  and  in  its  ordinary  haunts.  It  is  peace  sought  in 
the  spirit  of  peace,  and  laid  in  principles  purely  pacific. 
I  propose,  by  removing  the  ground  of  the  difference,  and 

25  by  restoring  the  former  unsuspecting  confidence  of  the 
colonies  in  the  mother  country,  to  give  permanent  satis 
faction  to  your  people  ;  and  (far  from  a  scheme  of  ruling 
by  discord)  to  reconcile  them  to  each  other  in  the  same 
1  Purely  legal. 


Speech   on   Conciliation  43 

act  and  by  the  bond  of  the  very  same  interest  which 
reconciles  them  to  British  government. 

My  idea  is  nothing  more.  ^Refined1  policy  ever  has 
been  the  parent  of  confusion,  and  ever  will  be  so  as 
long  as  the  world  endures\  Plain  good  intention,  which  5 
is  as  easily  discovered  at  the  first  view  as  fraud  is  surely 
detected  at  last,  is,  let  me  say,  of  no  mean  force  in  the 
government  of  mankind.  Genuine  simplicity  of  heart  is 
an  healing  and  cementing  principle.  My  plan,  therefore, 
being  formed  upon  the  most  simple  grounds  imaginable,  10 
may  disappoint  some  people  when  they  hear  it.  It  has 
nothing  to  recommend  it  to  the  pruriency2  of  curious 
ears.  There  is  nothing  at  all  new  and  captivating  in  it. 
It  has  nothing  of  the  splendour  of  the  project  which  has 
been  lately  laid  upon  your  table  by  the  noble  lord  in  the  15 
blue  ribbon.  It  does  not  propose  to  fill  your  lobby  with 
squabbling  colony  agents,  who  will  require  the  interposi 
tion  of  your  mace  at  every  instant  to  keep  the  peace 
amongst  them.  It  does  not  institute  a  magnificent 
auction  of  finance,  where  captivated  provinces  come  to  20 
general  ransom  by. bidding  against  each  other,  until  you 
knock  down' the  hammer,  and  determine  a  proportion  of 
payments  beyond  all  the  powers  of  algebra  to  equalize 
and  settle. 

The  plan  which  I  shall  presume  to  suggest  derives,  25 
however,  one  great  advantage  from  the  proposition  and 
registry  of  that  noble  lord's  project.     The  idea  of  con 
ciliation  is  admissible.     First,  the  House,  in  accepting 
1  Elaborate.  2  Desire,  in  the  bad  sense. 


44  Speech  on  Conciliation 

the  resolution  moved  by  the  noble  lord,  has  admitted, 
notwithstanding  the  menacing  front l  of  our  address,  not 
withstanding  our  heavy  bill  of  pains  and  penalties,  that 
we  do  not  think  ourselves  precluded  from  all  ideas  of 
5  free  grace  and  bounty. 

CThe  House  has  gone  farther :  it  has  declared  concilia 
tion  admissible,  previous  to  any  submission  on  the  part 
of  America.  It  has  even  shot  a  good  deal  beyond  that 
mark,  and  has  admitted  that. the  complaints  of  our  former 

10  mode  of  exerting  the  right  of  taxation  were  not  wholly 
unfounded.  That  right  thus  exerted  is  allowed  to  have 
something  reprehensible  in  it,  something  unwise  or  some 
thing  grievous ;  since,  in  the  midst  of  our  heat  and  resent 
ment,  we  of  ourselves  have  proposed  a  capital 2  alteration  ; 

15  and,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  what  seemed  so  very  excep 
tionable,  have  instituted  a  mode  that  is  altogether  new, 
—  one  that  is,  indeed,  wholly  alien  from  all  the  ancient 
methods  and  forms  of  Parliament. 

The  principle  of  this  proceeding  is  large  enough  for 

20  my  purpose.  The  means  proposed  by  the  noble  lord 
for  carrying  his  ideas  into  execution,  I  think,  indeed,  are 
very  indifferently  suited  to  the  end ;  and  this  I  shall  en 
deavour  to  show  you  before  I  sit  down.  But,  for  the  pres 
ent,  1  take  my  ground3  on  the  admitted  principle.  I  mean 

25  to  give  peace.  Peace  implies  reconciliation  ;  and  where 
there  has  been  a  material 4  dispute,  reconciliation  does 
in  a  manner  always  imply  concession  on  the  one  part  or 

1  Appearance.  2  Of  the  first  importance. 

3  Stand.  4  Real,  as  opposed  to  formal. 


Speech   on  Conciliation  45 

on  the  other.  In  this  state  of  things  I  make  no  difficulty 
*~  in  affirming  that  the  proposal  ought  to  originate  from  us. 
Great  and  acknowledged  force  is  not  impaired,  either  in 
effect  or  in  opinion,  by  an  unwillingness  to  exert  itself. 
The  superior  power  may  offer  peace  with  honour  and  with  5  * 
safety.  Such  an  offer  from  such  a  power  will  be  attributed 
to  magnanimity.  But  the  concessions  of  the  weak  are 
the  concessions  of  fear.  When  such  a  one  is  disarmed, 
he  is  wholly  at  the  mercy  of  his  superior ;  and  he  loses 
forever  that  time  and  those  chances  which,  as  they  hap- 10 
pen  to  all  men,  are  the  strength  and  resources  of  all 
t-  inferior  power. 

<*The  capital  leading  questions  on  which  you  must  this., 
day  decide  are  these  two :    first,  whether  you  ought  to 
concede ;    arid    secondly,   what   your   concession   ought  15 
to  be.  ',  On  the  first  of  these  questions  we  have  gained 
(as  I  have  just  taken  the  liberty  of  observing  to  you) 
some  ground.     But  I  am  sensible :  that  a  good  deal  more 
is  still  to  be  done.     Indeed,  Sir,  to  enable  us  to  deter 
mine  both  on  the  one  and  the  other  of  these  great  ques-  20 
tions  with  a  firm  and  precise  judgement,  I  think  it  may 
be  necessary  to  consider  distinctly  the  true  nature  and 
the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  object  which  we  have 
before  us  :  because  after  all  our  struggle,  whether  we  will 
or  not,  we  must  govern  America  according  to  that  nature  25 
~~  and  to  those  circumstances,  and  not  according  to  our  own 
imaginations,  not  according  to  abstract  ideas  of  right;  by 
no  means  according  to  mere  general  theories  of  govern- 
1  Aware. 


46  Speech  on  Conciliation 

ment,  the  resort  to  which  appears  to  me  in  our  present 
situation  no  better  than  arrant  trifling.  I  shall  therefore 
endeavour,  with  your  leave,  to  lay  before  you  some  of  the 
most  material  of  these  circumstances  in  as  full  and  as  clear 
5  a  manner  as  I  am  able  to  state  them. 

The  first  thing  that  we  have  to  consider  with  regard  to 
the  nature  of  the  object  is  the  number  of  people  in  the 
colonies.  I  have  taken  for  some  years  a  good  deal  of 
pains  on  that  pjDint.  I  can  by  no  calculation  justify  my- 

10  self  in  placing  the  number  below  two  millions  of  inhab 
itants  of  our  own  European  blood  and  colour,  besides  at 
least  500,000  others  who  form  no  inconsiderable  part 
of  the  strength  and  opulence  of  the  whole.  This,  Sir,  is, 
I  believe,  about  the  true  number.  There  is  no  occasion 

15  to  exaggerate  where  plain  truth  is  of  so  much  weight  and 
importance.  But  whether  I  put  the  present  numbers  too 
high  or  too  low  is  a  matter  of  little  moment.  Such  is 
the  strength  with  which  population  shoots  in  that  part 
of  the  world,  that,  state  the  numbers  as  high  as  we  will, 

20  whilst  the  dispute  continues,  the  exaggeration  ends. 
Whilst  we  are  discussing  any  given  magnitude,  they  are 
grown  to  it.  Whilst  we  spend  our  time  in  deliberating 
on  the  mode  of  governing  two  millions,  we  shall  find  we 
have  millions  more  to  manage.  Your  children  do  not 

25  grow  faster  from  infancy  to  manhood,  than  they  spread 
from  families  to  communities,  and  from  villages  to  nations. 
I  put  this  consideration  of  the  present  and  the  grow 
ing  numbers  in  the  front  of  our  deliberation,  because, 
Sir,  this  consideration  will  make  it  evident  to  a  blunter 


Speech  on   Conciliation  47 

discernment   than  yours,   that  no   partial,   narrow,   con 
tracted,  pinched,  occasional1  system  will  be  at  all  suit 
able  to  such  an  object.     It  will  show  you  that  it  is  not 
to  be  considered  as  one  of  those  minima 2  which  are  out 
of  the  eye  and  consideration  of  the  law ;   not  a  paltry  5 
excrescence  of  the  state ;  not  a  mean  dependent,  who 
may  be  neglected  with  little  damage  and  provoked  with 
little  danger.     It  will  prove  that  some  degree  of  care  and 
caution  is  required  in  the  handling  such  an  object ;    it 
will  show  that  you  ought  not,  in  reason,  to  trifle  with  so  10 
large  a  mass  of  the  interests  and  feelings  of  the  human 
race.     You  could  at  no  time  do  so  without  guilt ;  and 
be    assured   you   will   not   be   able   to   do   it  long  with_ 
impunity. 

But    the   population   of  this   country,  the   great   and  15 
growing  population,  though  a  very  important  consider 
ation,  will  lose  much  of  its  weight,  if  not  combined  with 
other  circumstances.     The  commerce   of  your  colonies  ^ 
is   out  of  all   proportion    beyond    the    numbers   of  the 
people.      This  ground   of  their  commerce,  indeed,  has  20 
been   trod    some   days  ago,   and   with  great  ability,   by 
a  distinguished  person3  at  your  bar.  <This  gentleman, 
after   thirty-five  years,  —  it  is  so  long  since  he  first  ap 
peared  at  the  same  place  to  plead   for  the  commerce 
of  Great  Britain, —  has  come  again  before  you  to  plead  25 
the  same  cause,  without  any  other  effect  of  time  than 
that  to  the  fire  of  imagination  and  extent  of  erudition 

1  Special,  designed  for  the  occasion. 
2  Trifles.  3  Richard  Glover. 


48  Speech  on  Conciliation 

which  even  then  marked  him  as  one  of  the  first  literary 
characters  of  his  age,  he  has  added  a  consummate  knowl 
edge  in  the  commercial  interest  of  his  country,  formed 
by  a  long  course  of  enlightened  and  discriminating 
5  experience.  • 

Sir,  I  should  be  inexcusable  in  coming  after  such  a 
person  with  any  detail,  if  a  great  part  of  the  members 
who  now  fill  the  House  had  not  the  misfortune  to  be 
absent  when  he  appeared  at  your  bar.  Besides,  Sir,  I 

10  propose  to  take  the  matter  at  periods  of  time  somewhat 
different  from  his.  There  is,  if  I  mistake  not,  a  point  of 
view  from  whence,  if  you  will  look  at  this  subject,  it  is 
impossible  that  it  should  not  make  an  impression  upon 
you. 

15  I  have  in  my  hand  two  accounts  :  one  a  comparative 
state1  of  the  export  trade  of  England  to  its  colonies, 
as  it  stood  in  the  year  1 704,  and  as  it  stood  in  the  year 
1772  ;  the  other  a  state  of  the  export  trade  of  this  coun 
try  to  its  colonies  alone,  as  it  stood  in  1772,  compared 

20  with  the  whole  trade  of  England  to  all  parts  of  the  world 
(the  colonies  included)  in  the  year  1704.  They  are 
from  good  vouchers  :  the  latter  period  from  the  accounts 
on  your  table,  the  earlier  from  an  original  manuscript  of 
Davenant,  who  first  established  the  Inspector-General's 

25  office,  which  has  been  ever  since  his  time  so  abundant 
a  source  of  parliamentary  information. 

The  export  trade   to   the   colonies    consists    of  three 
great  branches  :  the  African,  which,   terminating  almost 
1  Statement. 


Speech   on   Conciliation  49 

wholly  in  the  colonies,  must  be  put  to  the  account  of  their 
commerce  ;  the  West  Indian  ;  and  the  North  American. 
All  these  are  so  interwoven  that  the  attempt  to  separate 
them  would  tear  to  pieces  the  contexture  1  of  the  whole  ; 
and,  if  not  entirely  destroy,  would  very  much  depreciate  5 
the  value  of  all  the  parts.  I  therefore  consider  these 
three  denominations  2  to  be,  what  in  effect  they  are, 
one  trade. 

The  trade  to  the  colonies,  taken  on  the  export  side,  at 
the  beginning  of  this  century,  that  is,  in  the  year  1  704,  10 
stood  thus  :  — 

Exports  to  North  America  and  the  West  Indies  £483,265 
To  Africa  .....     .........      86,665 


In   the   year   1772,  which  I   take  as  a  middle   yeans 
between  the  highest  and  lowest  of  those  lately  laid  on 
your  table,  the  account  was  as  follows  :  — 

To  North  America  and  the  West  Indies    .     .  ,£4,791,734 
To  Africa      ............          866,398 

To  which  if  you  add  the  export  trade  from  2- 

Scotland,  which  had  in  1704  no  existence  364,000 

£6,022,132 

From  five  hundred  and  odd  thousand  it  has  grown  to 
six  millions.     It  has  increased  no  less  than  twelvefold.  A 
This  is  the  state  of  the  colony  trade,  as  compared  with  25 

1  Construction,  arrangement.  2  Classes. 

BURKE   ON    CONCILIATION  —  4 


50  Speech  on  Conciliation 

itself  at  these  two  periods  within  this  century ;  and  this  is 
matter  for  meditation.  But  this  is  not  all.  Examine  my 
second  account.  See  how  the  export  trade  to  the  colo 
nies  alone  in  1772  stood  in  the  other  point  of  view,  that 
5  is,  as  compared  to  the  whole  trade  of  England  in  1 704  :  — 

The  whole  export  trade  of  England,  including 

that  to  the  colonies,  in  1704 ^6,509,000 

Export  to  the  colonies  alone  in  1772    .     .     .        6,024,000 

Difference     ....        ,£485,000 

10  The  trade  with  America  alone  is  now  within  less  than 
^500,000  of  being  equal  to  what  this  great  commercial 
nation,  England,  carried  on  at  the  beginning  of  this 
century  with  the  whole  world  !  If  I  had  taken  the 
largest  year  of  those  on  your  table,  it  would  rather  have 

15  exceeded.  But,  it  will  be  said,  is  not  this  American 
trade  an  unnatural  protuberance  that  has  drawn  the  juices 
from  the  rest  of  the  body  ?  The  reverse.  It  is  the  very 
food  that  has  nourished  every  other  part  into  its  present 
magnitude.  Our  general  trade  has  been  greatly  aug- 

20  mented,  and  augmented  more  or  less  in  almost  every 
part  to  which  it  ever  extended,  but  with  this  material 
difference,  that  of  the  six  millions  which  in  the  be 
ginning  of  the  century  constituted  the  whole  mass  of  our 
export  commerce,  the  colony  trade  was  but  one-twelfth 

25  part  •  it  is  now  (as  a  part  of  sixteen  millions)  consider 
ably  more  than  a  third  of  the  whole.     This  is  the  relative  ' 
proportion  of  the  importance  of  the  colonies  at  these  two 
periods :  and  all  reasoning  concerning  our  mode  of  treat- 


Speech  on  Conciliation  51 

ing  them  must  have  this  proportion  as  its  basis ;  or  it  is  a 
reasoning  weak,  rotten  and  sophistical. 

Ntytr.  Speaker,  I  cannot  prevail  on  myself  to  hurry  over 
this  great  consideration.  It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here. 
We  stand  where  we  have  an  immense  view  of  what  is,  5 
and  what  is  pasO  Clouds,  indeed,  and  darkness  rest 
upon  the  future.  Let  us,  however,  before  we  descend 
from  this  noble  eminence,  reflect  that  this  growth  of  our 
national  prosperity  has  happened  within  the  short  period 
of  the  life  of  man.  It  has  happened  within  sixty-eight  10 
years.  There  are  those  alive  whose  memory  might 
touch  the  two  extremities.  For  instance,  my  Lord 
Bathurst  might  remember  all  the  stages  of  the  progress. 
He  was  in  1 704  of  an  age  at  least  to  be  made  to  com 
prehend  such  things.  He  was  then  old  enough  acta  15 
parentumjam  legere,  et  quae  sit  poterit  cognoscere  virtus. 
Suppose,  Sir,  that  the  angel  of  this  auspicious1  youth, 
foreseeing  the  many  virtues  which  made  him  one  of  the 
most  amiable,  as  he  is  one  of  the  most  fortunate,  men  of 
his  age,  had  opened  to  him  in  vision,  that  when  in  the  20 
fourth  generation  the  third  prince  of  the  House  of 
Brunswick  had  sat  twelve  years  on  the  throne  of  that 
nation  which  (by  the  happy  issue  of  moderate  and  heal 
ing  counsels)  was  to  be  made  Great  Britain,  he  should 
see  his  son,  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  turn  back  the  25 
current  of  hereditary  dignity  to  its  fountain,  and  raise 
him  to  a  higher  rank  of  peerage,  whilst  he  enriched  the 
family  with  a  new  one  ;  —  if,  amidst  these  bright  and 
1  Fortunate. 


52  Speech  on  Conciliation 

happy  scenes  of  domestic  honour  and  prosperity,  that 
angel  should  have  drawn  up  the  curtain  and  unfolded  the 
rising  glories  of  his  country,  and,  whilst  he  was  gazing 
with  admiration  on  the  then  commercial  grandeur  of 
5  England,  the  genius  should  point  out  to  him  a  little 
speck,  scarcely  visible  in  the  mass  of  the  national  interest, 
a  small  seminal  principle  rather  than  a  formed  body,  and 
should  tell  him, —  "Young  man,  there  is  America,  which 
at  this  day  serves  for  little  more  than  to  amuse  you  with 

10  stories  of  savage  men  and  uncouth  manners ;  yet  shall, 
before  you  taste  of  death,  show  itself  equal  to  the  whole  of 
that  commerce  which  now  attracts  the  envy  of  the  world. 
Whatever  England  has  been  growing  to  by  a  progressive 
increase  of  improvement,  brought  in  by  varieties  of 

15  people,  by  succession  of  civilizing  conquests 'and  civilizing 
settlements  in  a  series  of  seventeen  hundred  years,  you 
shall  see  as  much  added  to  her  by  America  in  the  course 
of  a  single  life  ! "  If  this  state  of  his  country  had  been 
foretold  to  him,  would  it  not  require  all  the  sanguine 

20  credulity  of  youth  and  all  the  fervid  glow  of  enthusiasm 

to  make  him  believe  it?     Fortunate  man,  he  has  lived  to 

see  it !     Fortunate  indeed,  if  he  lives  to  see  nothing  that 

shall  vary  the  prospect  and  cloud  t*he  setting  of  his  day  ! 

Excuse    me,    Sir,    if,    turning    from    such    thoughts,  I 

25  resume  this  comparative  view  once  more.  You  have 
seen  it  on  a  large  scale  ;  look  at  it  on  a  small  one.  I 
will  point  out  to  your  attention  a  particular  instance  of  it 
in  the  single  province  of  Pennsylvania.  In  the  year 
1704  that  province  called  for  ^"11,459  in  value  of  your 


Speech  on  Conciliation  53 

commodities,  native  and  foreign.  This  was  the  whole. 
What  did  it  demand  in  1772?  Why,  nearly  fifty  times  as 
much ;  for  in  that  year  the  export  to  Pennsylvania  was 
^507,909,  nearly  equal  to  the  export  to  all  the  colonies 
together  in  the  first  period.  5 

I  choose,  Sir,  to  enter  into  these  minute  and  particular 
details,  because  generalities,  which  in  all  other  cases 
are  apt  to  heighten  and  raise  the  subject,  have  here  a 
tendency  to  sink  it.  When  we  speak  of  the  commerce 
with  our  colonies,  fiction  lags  after  truth,  invention  is  10 
unfruitful,  and  imagination  cold  and  barren. 

So  far,  Sir,  as  to  the  importance  of  the  object  in 
the  view  of  its  commerce,  as  concerned  in  the  exports 
from  England.  If  I  were  to  detail  the  imports,  I  could 
show  how  many  enjoyments  they  procure  which  deceive 1 15 
the  burden  of  life,  how  many  materials  which  invigorate 
the  springs  of  national  industry,  and  extend  and  animate 
every  part  of  our  foreign  and  domestic  commerce.  This 
would  be  a  curious2  subject  indeed, — but  I  must  pre 
scribe  bounds  to  myself  in  a  matter  so  vast  and  various.  20 

I  pass,  therefore,  to  the  colonies  in  another  point 
of  view,  —  their  agriculture.  This  they  have  prosecuted 
with  such  a  spirit  that,  besides  feeding  plentifully  their 
own  growing  multitude,  their  annual  export  of  grain, 
comprehending  rice,  has  some  years  ago  exceeded  a  25 
million  in  value.  Of  their  last  harvest,  I  am  persuaded, 
they  will  export  much  more.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
century  some  of  these  colonies  imported  corn  from  the 
1  Lighten.  2  Interesting. 


54  Speech  on  Conciliation 

mother  country.  For  some  time  past  the  Old  World  has 
been  fed  from  the  New.  The  scarcity  which  you  have 
felt  would  have  been  a  desolating  famine  if  this  child 
of  your  old  age,  with  a  true  filial  piety,  with  a  Roman 

5  charity,  had  not  put  the  full  breast  of  its  youthful  exuber 
ance  to  the  mouth  of  its  exhausted  parent. 

As  to  the  wealth  which  the  colonies  have  drawn  from 
the  sea  by  their  fisheries,  you  had  all  that  matter  fully 
opened  at  your  bar.  You  surely  thought  those  acquisi- 

10  tions  of  value,  for  they  seemed  even  to  excite  your  envy; 
and  yet  the  spirit  by  which  that  enterprising  employment 
has  been  exercised  ought  rather,  in  my  opinion,  to  have 
raised  your  esteem  and  admiration.  And  pray,  Sir,  what 
in  the  world  is  equal  to  it  ?  Pass  by  the  other  parts,  and 

15  look  at  the  manner  in  which  the  people  of  New  England 

have  of  late  carried   on  the  whale   fishery.     Whilst  we 

follow  them  among  the  tumbling  mountains  of  ice,  and 

behold  them  penetrating  into  the  deepest  frozen  recesses 

^      of  Hudson  Bay  and  Davis  Strait,  whilst  we  are  looking 

-20  for  them  beneath  the  Arctic  Circle,  we  hear  that  they 

have  pierced  into  the  opposite  region  of  polar  cold,  that 

they  are  at  the  antipodes  and  engaged  under  the  frozen 

Serpent  of  the  south.     Falkland  Island,  which  seemed  too 

remote  and  romantic  an  object  for  the  grasp  of  national 

25  ambition,  is  but  a  stage  and  resting-place  in  the  progress 
of  their  victorious  industry.  Nor  is  the  equinoctial  heat 
more  discouraging  to  them  than  the  accumulated  winter 
of  both  the  poles.  We  know  that  whilst  some  of  them 
draw  the  line  and  strike  the  harpoon  on  the  coast  of 


Speech  on  Conciliation  55 

Africa,  others  run  the  longitude  and  pursue  their  gigantic 
game  along  the  coast  of  Brazil.  No  sea  but  what  is 
vexed  by  their  fisheries.  No  climate  that  is  not  witness 
to  their  toils.  Neither  the  perseverance  of  Holland  nor 
the  activity  of  France  nor  the  dexterous  and  firm  sagacity  5 
of  English  enterprise  ever  carried  this  most  perilous 
mode  of  hardy l  industry  to  the  extent  to  which  it  has 
been  pushed  by  this  recent  people  —  a  people  who  are 
still,  as  it  were,  but  in  the  gristle,  and  not  yet  hardened 
into  the  bone  of  manhood.  When  I  contemplate  these  10 
things ;  when  I  know  that  the  colonies  in  general  owe 
little  or  nothing  to  any  care  of  ours,  and  that  they  are 
not  squeezed  into  this  happy  form  by  the  constraints  of 
watchful  and  suspicious  government,  but  that  through  a 
wise  and  salutary  neglect  a  generous 2  nature  has  been  15 
suffered  to  take  her  own  way  to  perfection; — when  I 
reflect  upon  these  effects,  when  I  see  how  profitable  they 
have  been  to  us,  I  feel  all  the  pride  of  power  sink,  and 
all  presumption  in  the  wisdom  of  human  contrivances 
melt  and  die  away  within  me.  My  rigour  relents.  I  20 
pardon  something  to  the  spirit  of  liberty. 

I  am  sensible,  Sir,  that  all  which  I  have  asserted  in  my 
detail  is  admitted  in  the  gross,  but  that  quite  a  different 
conclusion  is  drawn  from  it.  America,  gentlemen  say,  is 
a  noble  object;  it  is  an  object  well  worth  fighting  for. 25 
Certainly  it  is,  if  fighting  a  people  be  the  best  way  of 
gaining  them.  Gentlemen  in  this  respect  will  be  led  to 
their  choice  of  means  by  their  complexions3  and  their 

1  Bold.  2  Active,  high-spirited.  a  Temperaments. 


56  Speech  on  Conciliation 

habits.  Those  who  understand  the  military  art  will  of 
course  have  some  predilection  for  it.  Those  who  wield 
the  thunder  of  the  state  may  have  more  confidence  in  the 
efficacy  of  arms.  But  I  confess,  possibly  for  want  of 
5  this  knowledge,  my  opinion  is  much  more  in  favour  of 
prudent  management  than  of  force,  —  considering  force 
not  as  an  odious,  but  a  feeble,  instrument  for  preserving 
a  people  so  numerous,  so  active,  so  growing,  so  spirited 
as  this,  in  a  profitable  and  subordinate  connection  with 

10  US. 

First,  Sir,  permit  me  to  observe  that  the  use  of  force 
alone  is  but  temporary.  It  may  subdue  for  a  moment, 
but  it  does  not  remove  the  necessity  of  subduing  again ; 
and  a  nation  is  not  governed  which  is  perpetually  to  be 

»5  conquered. 

My  next  objection  is  its  uncertainty.  Terror  is  not 
always  the  effect  of  force,  and  an  armament  is  not  a 
victory.  If  you  do  not  succeed,  you  are  without  re 
source  :  for  conciliation  failing,  force  remains ;  but  force 

20  failing,  no  further  hope  of  reconciliation  is  left.  Power 
and  authority  are  sometimes  bought  by  kindness,  but 
they  can  never  be  begged  as  alms  by  an  impoverished 
and  defeated  violence. 

A  further  objection  to  force  is  that  you  impair  the  object 

25  by  your  very  endeavours  to  preserve  it.  The  thing  you 
fought  for  is  not  the  thing  which  you  recover,  but  de- 
preciated,  sunk,  wasted  and  consumed  in  the  contest. 
Nothing  less  will  content  me  than  whole  America.  I  do 
not.  choose  to  consume  its  strength  along  with  our  own ; 


Speech  on  Conciliation  57 

because  in  all  parts  it  is  the  British  strength  that  I  con 
sume.  I  do  not  choose  to  be  caught  by  a  foreign  enemy 
at  the  end  of  this  exhausting  conflict,  and  still  less  in 
the  midst  of  it.  I  may  escape,  but  I  can  make  no  in 
surance  against  such  an  event.  Let  me  add  that  I  do  5 
not  choose  wholly  to  break  the  American  spirit ;  because 
it  is  the  spirit  that  has  made  the  country. 

Lastly,  we  have  no  sort  of  experience  in  favour  of  force 
as  an  instrument  in  the  rule  of  our  colonies.  Their 
growth  and  their  utility  have  been  owing  to  methods  alto- 10 
gether  different.  Our  ancient  indulgence  has  been  said 
to  be  pursued  to  a  fault.  It  may  be  so ;  but  we  know,  if 
feeling  is  evidence,  that  our  fault  was  more  tolerable  than 
our  attempt  to  mend  it,  and  our  sin  far  more  salutary 
than  our  penitence.  r5 

These,  Sir,  are  my  reasons  for  not  entertaining  that 
high  opinion  of  untried  force,  by  which  many  gentlemen, 
for  whose  sentiments  in  other  particulars  I  have  great 
respect,  seem  to  be  so  greatly  captivated.  But  there  is 
still  behind  a  third  consideration  concerning  this  object,  20 
which  serves  to  determine  my  opinion  on  the  sort  of 
policy  which  ought  to  be  pursued  in  the  management  of 
America,  even  more  than  its  population  and  its  commerce  : 
I  mean  its  temper  and  character. 

In  this  character  of  the  Americans  a  love  of  freedom  is  25 
the  predominating  feature  which  marks  and  distinguishes 
the  whole  :  and  as  an  ardent  is  always  a  jealous  affection, 
yoiir  colonies  become  suspicious,  restive  and  untractable, 
whenever  they  see  the  least  attempt  to  wrest  from  them 


58  Speech  on  Conciliation 

by  force  or  shuffle  from  them  by  chicane  what  they  think 
the  only  advantage  worth  living  for.  This  fierce  spirit  of 
liberty  is  stronger  in  the  English  colonies,  probably,  than 
in  any  other  people  of  the  earth;  and  this  from  a  great 
5  variety  of  powerful  causes,  which,  to  understand  the  true 
temper  of  their  minds  and  the  direction  which  this  spirit 
takes,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  lay  open  somewhat  more 
largely. 

First,  the  people  of  the  colonies  are  descendants  of 

10  Englishmen.  England,  Sir,  is  a  nation  which  still,  I  hope, 
respects,  and  formerly  adored,  her  freedom.  The  colo 
nists  emigrated  from  you  when  tnis  part  of  your  character 
was  most  predominant ;  and  they  took  this  bias  and 
direction  the  moment  they  parted  from  your  hands. 

15  They  are  therefore  not  only  devoted  to  liberty,  but  to 
liberty  according  to  English  ideas  and  on  English  prin 
ciples.  Abstract  liberty,  like  other  mere  abstractions,  is 
not  to  be  found.  Liberty  inheres  in  some  sensible  ob 
ject  ;  and  every  nation  has  formed  to  itself  some  favourite 

20  point,  which  by  way  of  eminence  becomes  the  criterion 
of  their  happiness.  It  happened,  you  know,  Sir,  that  the 
great  contests  for  freedom  in  this  country  were  from  the 
earliest  times  chiefly  upon  the  question  of  taxing.  Most 
of  the  contests  in  the  ancient  commonwealths  turned 

25  primarily  on  the  right  of  election  of  magistrates  or  on  the 
balance  among  the  several  orders  of  the  state.  The 
question  of  money  was  not  with  them  so  immediate.  But 
in  England  it  was  otherwise.  \Qn  this  point  of  taxes  the 
ablest  pens  and  most  eloquent  tongues  have  been  exer- 


Speech  on   Conciliation  59 

cised,  the  greatest  spirits  have  acted  and  suffered?  In 
order  to  give  the  fullest  satisfaction  concerning  the  im 
portance  of  this  point,  it  was  not  only  necessary  for  those 
who  in  argument  defended  the  excellence  of  the  English 
Constitution  to  insist  on  this  privilege  of  granting  money  5 
as  a  dry  point  of  fact,  and  to  prove  that  the  right  had 
been  acknowledged  in  ancient  parchments  and  blind 
usages  to  reside  in  a  certain  body  called  a  House  of  Com 
mons.  They  went  much  farther :  they  attempted  to 
prove,  and  they  succeeded,  that  in  theory  it  ought  to  be  10 
so,  from  the  particular  nature  of  the  House  of  Commons 
as  an  immediate  representative  of  the  people,  whether 
the  old  records  had  delivered  this  oracle  or  not.  They 
took  infinite  pains  to  inculcate,  as  a  fundamental  principle, 
that  in  all  monarchies  the  people  must  in  effect  themselves,  15 
mediately  or  immediately,  possess  the  power  of  granting 
their  own  money,  or  no  shadow  of  liberty  could  subsist. 
The  colonies  draw  from  you,  as  with  their  life-blood, 
these  ideas  and  principles.  Their  love  of  liberty,  as  with 
you,  fixed  and  attached  on  this  specific  point  of  taxing.  20 
Liberty  might  be  safe  or  might  be  endangered  in  twenty 
other  particulars  without  their  being  much  pleased  or 
alarmed.  Here  they  felt  its  pulse ;  and  as  they  found 
that  beat,  they  thought  themselves  sick  or  sound.  I  do 
not  say  whether  they  were  right  or  wrong  in  applying  25 
your  general  arguments  to  their  own  case.  It  is  not  easy, 
indeed,  to  make  a  monopoly  of  theorems  and  corollaries. 
The  fact  is  that  they  did  thus  apply  those  general 
arguments  ;  and  your  mode  of  governing  them,  whether 


60  Speech  on  Conciliation 

through  lenity  or  indolence,  through  wisdom  or  mistake, 
confirmed  them  in  the  imagination  that  they,  as  well  as 
you,  had  an  interest  in  these  common  principles. 

They  were  further  confirmed  in  this  pleasing  error  by 
5  the  form  of  their  provincial  legislative  assemblies.  Their 
governments  are  popular  in  an  high  degree  :  some  are 
merely  popular ;  in  all  the  popular  representative  is  the 
most  weighty ;  and  this  share  of  the  people  in  their  ordi 
nary  government  never  fails  to  inspire  them  with  lofty 

10  sentiments  and  with  a  strong  aversion  from  whatever 
tends  to  deprive  them  of  their  chief  importance. 

If  anything  were  wanting  to  this  necessary  operation 
of  the  form  of  government,  religion  would  have  given 
it  a  complete  effect.  Religion,  always  a  principle  of 

15  energy,  in  this  new  people  is  no  way  worn  out  or 
impaired  ;  and  their  mode  of  professing  it  is  also  one 
main  cause  of  this  free  spirit.  The  people  are  Protest 
ants,  and  of  that  kind  which  is  the  most  adverse  to  all 
implicit  submission  of  mind  and  opinion.  This  is  a 

20  persuasion  not  only  favourable  to  liberty,  but  built  upon 
it.  I  do  not  think,  Sir,  that  the  reason  of  this  averse- 
ness  in  the  dissenting  churches  from  all  that  looks  like 
absolute  government  is  so  much  to  be  sought  in  their 
religious  tenets  as  in  their  history.  Every  one  knows 

25  that  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  is  at  least  coeval  with 
most  of  the  governments  where  it  prevails ;  that  it  has 
generally  gone  hand  in  hand  with  them,  and  received 
great  favour  and  every  kind  of  support  from  authority. 
The  Church  of  England  too  was  formed  from  her  cradle 


Speech  on  Conciliation  61 

under  the  nursing  care  of  regular  government.  But  the 
dissenting  interests  have  sprung  up  in  direct  opposition 
to  all  the  ordinary  powers  of  the  world,  and  could  justify 
that  opposition  only  on  a  strong  claim  to  natural  liberty. 
Their  very  existence  depended  on  the  powerful  and  un-  5 
remitted  assertion  of  that  claim.  All  Protestantism,  even 
the  most  cold  and  passive,  is  a  sort  of  dissent.  But  the 
religion  most  prevalent  in  our  northern  colonies  is  a 
refinement  on  the  principle  of  resistance  :  it  is  the  dis- 
sidence  of  dissent  and  the  Protestantism  of  the  Protestant  TO 
religion.  This  religion,  under  a  variety  of  denomina 
tions  agreeing  in  nothing  but  in  the  communion  of  the 
spirit  of  liberty,  is  predominant  in  most  of  the  northern 
provinces,  where  the  Church  of  England,  notwithstand 
ing  its  legal  rights,  is  in  reality  no  more  than  a  sort  of  15 
private  sect,  not  composing1  most  probably  the  tenth  of 
the  people.  The  colonists  left  England  when  this  spirit 
was  high,  and  in  the  emigrants  was  the  highest  of  all ; 
and  even  that  stream  of  foreigners  which  has  been  con 
stantly  flowing  into  these  colonies  has,  for  the  greatest  20 
part,  been  composed  of  dissenters  from  the  establishments2 
of  their  several  countries,  and  have  brought  with  them  a 
temper  and  character  far  from  alien  to  that  of  the  people 
with  whom  they  mixed. 

Sir,  I  can  perceive  by  their  manner  that  some  gentle-  25 

men  object  to  the  latitude 3  of  this  description,  because 

in  the  southern  colonies  the  Church  of  England  forms 

a  large    body  and   has   a  regular    establishment.     It   is 

1  Comprising.  2  State  churches.  3  Scope. 


62  Speech   on   Conciliation 

certainly  true.  There  is,  however,  a  circumstance  at 
tending  these  colonies  which,  in  my  opinion,  fully 
counterbalances  this  difference  and  makes  the  spirit  of 
liberty  still  more  high  and  haughty  than  in  those  to  the 
5  northward.  It  is,  that  in  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas 
they  have  a  vast  multitude  of  slaves.  Where  this  is  the 
case  in  any  part  of  the  world,  those  who  are  free  are  by 
far  the  most  proud  and  jealous  of  their  freedom.  Free 
dom  is  to  them  not  only  an  enjoyment,  but  a  kind  of 

*o  rank  and  privilege.  Not  seeing  there  that  freedom,  as  in 
countries  where  it  is  a  common  blessing  and  as  broad 
and  general  as  the  air,  may  be  united  with  much  abject 
toil,  with  great  misery,  with  all  the  exterior  of  servitude, 
liberty  looks,  amongst  them,  like  something  that  is  more 

J5  noble  and  liberal.  I  do  not  mean,  Sir,  to  commend  the 
superior  morality  of  this  sentiment,  which  has  at  least  as 
much  pride  as  virtue  in  it ;  but  I  cannot  alter  the  nature 
of  man.  The  fact  is  so  ;  and  these  people  of  the  south 
ern  colonies  are  much  more  strongly  and  with  a  higher 

20  and  more  stubborn  spirit  attached  to  liberty  than  those 
to  the  northward.  Such  were  all  the  ancient  common 
wealths  ;  such  were  our  Gothic  ancestors  ;  such  in  our 
days  were  the  Poles  ;  and  such  will  be  all  masters  of 
slaves,  who  are  not  slaves  themselves.  In  such  a  people 

25  the  haughtiness  of  domination  combines  with  the  spirit 
of  freedom,  fortifies  it,  and  renders  it  invincible. 

Permit  me,  Sir,  to  add  another  circumstance  in 
our  colonies,  which  contributes  no  mean  part  towards 
the  growth  and  effect  of  this  untractable  spirit :  I  mean 


Speech  on   Conciliation  63 

their  education.  In  no  country  perhaps  in  the  world  is 
the  law  so  general  a  study.  The  profession  itself  is 
numerous  and  powerful,  and  in  most  provinces  it  takes 
the  lead.  The  greater  number  of  the  deputies  sent  to 
the  Congress  were  lawyers.  But  all  who  read  (and  most  5 
do  read)  endeavour  to  obtain  some  smattering  in  that 
science.  I  have  been  told  by  an  eminent  bookseller  that 
in  no  branch  of  his  business,  after  tracts  of  popular 
devotion,  were  so  many  books  as  those  on  the  law  ex 
ported  to  the  plantations.  The  colonists  have  now  fallen  ic 
into  the  way  of  printing  them  for  their  own  use.  I  hear 
that  they  have  sold  nearly  as  many  of  Blackstone's  Com 
mentaries  in  America  as  in  England.  General  Gage 
marks  out  this  disposition  very  particularly  in  a  letter  on 
your  table.  He  states  that  all  the  people  in  his  govern- 15 
ment  are  lawyers  or  smatterers  in  law,  and  that  in  Boston 
they  have  been  enabled  by  successful  chicane  wholly 
to  evade  many  parts  of  one  of  your  capital  penal  con 
stitutions.1  The  smartness  of  debate  will  say  that  this 
knowledge  ought  to  teach  them  more  clearly  the  rights  20 
of  legislature,  their  obligations  to  obedience  and  the 
penalties  of  rebellion.  All  this  is  mighty  well.  But  my 
honourable  and  learned  friend  on  the  floor,2  who  con 
descends  to  mark  what  I  say  for  animadversion,  will  dis 
dain  that  ground.  He  has  heard,  as  well  as  I,  that  when  25 
great  honours  and  great  emoluments  do  not  win  over  this 
knowledge  to  the  service  of  the  state,  it  is  a  formidable 
adversary  to  government.  If  the  spirit  be  not  tamed  and 
1  Enactments.  a  The  attorney-general. 


64  Speech  on  Conciliation 

broken  by  these  happy  methods,  it  is  stubborn  and 
litigious.  Abeunt  studia  in  mores.  This  study  renders 
men  acute,  inquisitive,  dexterous,  prompt  in  attack,  ready 
in  defence,  full  of  resources.  In  other  countries  the 
5  people,  more  simple  and  of  a  less  mercurial  cast,  judge  of 
an  ill  principle  in  government  only  by  an  actual  griev 
ance  ;  here  they  anticipate  the  evil  and  judge  of  the 
pressure  of  the  grievance  by  the  badness  of  the  principle. 
They  augur  misgovernment  at  a  distance  and  snuff  the 

10  approach  of  tyranny  in  every  tainted  breeze. 

The  last  cause  of  this  disobedient  spirit  in  the  colonies 
is  hardly  less  powerful  than  the  rest,  as  it  is  not  merely 
moral,  but  laid  deep  in  the  natural  constitution  of  things. 
Three  thousand  miles  of  ocean  lie  between  you  and 

15  them.  No  contrivance  can  prevent  the  effect  of  this 
distance  in  weakening  government.  Seas  roll  and  months 
pass  between  the  order  and  the  execution ;  and  the  want 
of  a  speedy  explanation  of  a  single  point  is  enough  to 
defeat  a  whole  system.  You  have,  indeed,  winged  minis- 

20  ters  of  vengeance,  who  carry  your  bolts  in  their  pounces 
to  the  remotest  verge  of  the  sea.  But  there  a  power 
steps  in  that  limits  the  arrogance  of  raging  passions  and 
furious  elements,  and  says,  "  So  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no 
farther."  Who  are  you,  that  you  should  fret  and  rage, 

25  and  bite  the  chains  of  Nature  ?  Nothing  worse  happens 
to  you  than  does  to  all  nations  who  have  extensive  empire  ; 
and  it  happens  in  all  the  forms  into  which  empire  can  -be 
thrown.  In  large  bodies  the  circulation  of  power  must 
be  less  vigorous  at  the  extremities.  Nature  has  said  it. 


Speech   on   Conciliation  65 

The  Turk  cannot  govern  Egypt  and  Arabia  and  Kurdistan 
as  he  governs  Thrace ;  nor  has  he  the  same  dominion  in 
Crimea  and  Algiers  which  he  has  at  Brusa  and  Smyrna. 
Despotism  itself  is  obliged  to  truck  and  huckster.  The 
sultan  gets  such  obedience  as  he  can.  He  governs  with  5 
a  loose  rein,  that  he  may  govern  at  all ;  and  the  whole 
of  the  force  and  vigour  of  his  authority  in  his  centre  is 
derived  from  a  prudent  relaxation  in  all  his  borders. 
Spain  in  her  provinces  is  perhaps  not  so  well  obeyed  as 
you  are  in  yours.  She  complies,  too  ;  she  submits  ;  she  10 
watches  times.  This  is  the  immutable  condition,  the 
eternal  law,  of  extensive  and  detached  empire. 

Then,  Sir,  from  these  six  capital  sources  :  of  descent, 
of  form  of  government,  of  religion  in  the  northern  prov 
inces,  of  manners  in  the  southern,  of  education,  of  the  15 
remoteness  of  situation  from  the  first  mover  of  govern 
ment,  —  from  all  these  causes  a  fierce  spirit  of  liberty 
has  grown  up.  It  has  grown  with  the  growth  of  the  peo 
ple  in  your  colonies,  and  increased  with  the  increase  of 
their  wealth  :  a  spirit  that,  unhappily  meeting  with  an  20 
exercise  of  power  in  England,  which,  however  lawful,  is 
not  reconcilable  to  any  ideas  of  liberty,  much  less  with 
theirs,  has  kindled  this  flame  that  is  ready  to  consume  us. 

I  do  not  mean  to  commend  either  the  spirit  in  this 
excess  or  the  moral  causes  which  produce  it.  Perhaps  a  25 
more  smooth  and  accommodating  spirit  of  freedom  in 
them  would  be  more  acceptable  to  us.  Perhaps  ideas 
of  liberty  might  be  desired  more  reconcilable  with  an 
arbitrary  and  boundless  authority.  Perhaps  we  might 

BURKE   ON    CONCILIATION  —  5 


66  Speech  on  Conciliation 

wish  the  colonists  to  be  persuaded  that  their  liberty  is 
more  secure  when  held  in  trust  for  them  by  us,  as  their 
guardians  during  a  perpetual  minority,  than  with  any  part 
of  it  in  their  own  hands.  The  question  is  not  whether 
5  their  spirit  deserves  praise  or  blame,  but  what,  in  the 
name  of  God,  shall  we  do  with  it  ?  You  have  before 
you  the  object,  such  as  it  is,  with  all  its  glories,  with  all 
its  imperfections  on  its  head.  You  see  the  magnitude, 
the  importance,  the  temper,  the  habits,  the  disorders. 

10  By  all  these  considerations  we  are  strongly  urged  to  de 
termine  something  concerning  it.  We  are  called  upon 
to  fix  some  rule  and  line  for  our  future  conduct,  which 
may  give  a  little  stability  to  our  politics  and  prevent  the 
return  of  such  unhappy  deliberations  as  the  present. 

15  Every  such  return  will  bring  the  matter  before  us  in  a 
still  more  untractable  form.  For  what  astonishing  and 
incredible  things  have  we  not  seen  already !  What 
monsters  have  not  been  generated  from  this  unnatural 
contention  !  Whilst  every  principle  of  authority  and 

20  resistance  has  been  pushed,  upon  both  sides,  as  far  as 
it  would  go,  there  is  nothing  so  solid  and  certain,  either 
in  reasoning  or  in  practice,  that  has  not  been  shaken. 
Until  very  lately  all  authority  in  America  seemed  to  be 
nothing  but  an  emanation  from  yours.  Even  the  popular 

25  part  of  the  colony  constitution  derived  all  its  activity,  and 
its  first  vital  movement,  from  the  pleasure  of  the  crown. 
We  thought,  Sir,  that  the  utmost  which  the  discontented 
colonists  could  do  was  to  disturb  authority ;  we  never 
dreamt  they  could  of  themselves  supply  it,  knowing  in 


Speech  on  Conciliation  »  67 

general  what  an  operose  business  it  is  to  establish  a  gov 
ernment  absolutely  new.  But  having  for  our  purposes  in 
this  contention  resolved  that  none  but  an  obedient  assem 
bly  should  sit,  the  humours  of  the  people  there,  finding  all 
passage  through  the  legal  channel  stopped,  with  great  5 
violence  broke  out  another  way.  Some  provinces  have 
tried  their  experiment,  as  we  have  tried  ours ;  and  theirs 
has  succeeded.  They  have  formed  a  government  suffi 
cient  for  its  purposes,  without  the  bustle  of  a  revolution 
or  the  troublesome  formality  of  an  election.  Evident  10 
necessity  and  tacit  consent  have  done  the  business  in  an 
instant.  So  well  they  have  done  it  that  Lord  Dunmore 
(the  account  is  among  the  fragments  on  your  table)  tells 
you  that  the  new  institution  is  infinitely  better  obeyed 
than  the  ancient  government  ever  was  in  its  most  fortu- 15 
nate  periods.  \_Obedience  is  what  makes  government,  and 
not  the  names  by  which  it  is  called  :  not  the  name  of 
governor,  as  formerly,  or  committee,  as  at  presentj  This 
new  government  has  originated  directly  from  the  people, 
and  was  not  transmitted  through  any  of  the  ordinary  20 
artificial  media  of  a  positive  constitution.  It  was  not  a 
manufacture  ready  formed,  and  transmitted  to  them  in 
that  condition  from  England.  The  evil  arising  from 
hence  is  this  :  that  the  colonists  having  once  found  the 
possibility  of  enjoying  the  advantages  of  order  in  the  25 
midst  of  a  struggle  for  liberty,  such  struggles  will  not 
henct forward  seem  so  terrible  to  the  settled  and  sober 
part  of  mankind  as  they  had  appeared  before  the  trial. 
Pursuing  the  same  plan  of  punishing,  by  the  denial  of 


68  Speech  on   Conciliation 

the  exercise  of  government,  to  still  greater  lengths,  we 
wholly  abrogated  the  ancient  government  of  Massachu 
setts.  We  were  confident  that  the  first  feeling,  if  not  the 
very  prospect,  of  anarchy,  would  instantly  enforce  a  com- 
5  plete  submission.  The  experiment  was  tried.  A  new, 
strange,  unexpected  face  of  things  appeared.  Anarchy 
is  found  tolerable.  A  vast  province  has  now  subsisted, 
and  subsisted  in  a  considerable  degree  of  health  and 
vigour,  for  near  a  twelvemonth,  without  governor,  without 

10  public  council,  without  judges,  without  executive  magis 
trates.  How  long  it  will  continue  in  this  state,  or  what 
may  arise  out  of  this  unheard-of  situation,  how  can  the 
wisest  of  us  conjecture  ?  Our  late  experience  has  taught 
us  that  many  of  those  fundamental  principles  formerly 

15  believed  infallible  are  either  not  of  the  importance  they 
were  imagined  to  be,  or  that  we  have  not  at  all  adverted 
to  some  other  far  more  important  and  far  more  power 
ful  principles,  which  entirely  overrule  those  we  had  con 
sidered  as  omnipotent.  I  am  much  against  any  further 

70  experiments  which  tend  to  put  to  the  proof  any  more 
of  these  allowed  opinions  which  contribute  so  much  to 
the  public  tranquillity.  In  effect,  we  suffer  as  much  at 
home  by  this  loosening  of  all  ties  and  this  concussion1 
of  all  established  opinions,  as  we  do  abroad.  For,  in 

25  order  to    prove   that   the  Americans  have  no    right   to 

their  liberties,  we  are  every  day  endeavouring  to  subvert 

the  maxims  which  preserve  the  whole  spirit  of  our  own. 

To  prove  that  Americans  ought  not  to  be  free,  we  are 

1  Shaking. 


Speech  on   Conciliation  69 

obliged  to  depreciate  the  value  of  freedom  itself;  and 
we  never  seem  to  gain  a  paltry  advantage  over  them  in 
debate,  without  attacking  some  of  those  principles,  or 
deriding  some  of  those  feelings,  for  which  our  ancestors 
have  shed  their  blood.  5 

But,  Sir,  in  wishing  to  put  an  end  to  pernicious 
experiments,  I  do  not  mean  to  preclude  the  fullest 
inquiry.  Far  from  it.  Far  from  deciding  on  a  sudden 
or  partial  view,  I  would  patiently  go  round  and  round 
the  subject,  and  survey  it  minutely  in  every  possible  10 
aspect.  Sir,  if  I  were  capable  of  engaging  you  to  an 
equal  attention,  I  would  state  that,  as  far  as  I  am  capable 
of  discerning,  there  are  but  three  ways  of  proceeding 
relative  to  this  stubborn  spirit  which  prevails  in  your 
colonies  and  disturbs  your  government.  These  are  :  to  15 
change  that  spirit,  as  inconvenient,  by  removing  the 
causes ;  to  prosecute  it  as  criminal ;  or  to  comply  with  it 
as  necessary.  I  would  not  be  guilty  of  an  imperfect 
enumeration  ;  I  can  think  of  but  these  three.  Another 
has  indeed  been  started,  that  of  giving  up  the  colonies ;  20 
but  it  met  so  slight  a  reception  that  I  do  not  think 
myself  obliged  to  dwell  a  great  while  upon  it.  It  is 
nothing  but  a  little  sally  of  anger,  like  the  frowardness 
of  peevish  children,  who,  when  they  cannot  get  all  they 
would  have,  are  resolved  to  take  nothing.  25 

The  first  of  these  plans,  to  change  the  spirit,  as  incon 
venient,  by  removing  the  causes,  I  think  is  the  most 
like  a  systematic  proceeding.  It  is  radical  in  its  princi 
ple  ;  but  it  is  attended  with  great  difficulties,  some  of 


70  Speech  on   Conciliation 

them  little  short,  as  I  conceive,  of  impossibilities.  This 
will  appear  by  examining  into  the  plans  which  have  been 
proposed. 

As  the  growing  population  in  the  colonies  is  evidently 
5  one  cause  of  their  resistance,  it  was  last  session  men 
tioned  in  both  Houses  by  men  of  weight,  and  received 
not  without  applause,  that  in  order  to  check  this  evil, 
it  would  be  proper  for  the  crown  to  make  no  further 
grants  of  land.  But  to  this  scheme  there  are  two  objec- 

10  tions.  The  first,  that  there  is  already  so  much  unsettled 
land  in  private  hands  as  to  afford  room  for  an  immense 
future  population,  although1  the  crown  not  only  withheld 
its  grants,  but  annihilated  its  soil.  If  this  be  the  case, 
then  the  only  effect  of  this  avarice  of  desolation,  this 

15  hoarding  of  a  royal  wilderness,  would  be  to  raise  the 
value  of  the  possessions  in  the  hands  of  the  great  private 
monopolists,  without  any  adequate  check  to  the  growing 
and  alarming  mischief  of  population. 

But  if  you  stopped  your  grants,  what  would  be  the 

?o  consequence  ?  The  people  would  occupy  without  grants. 
They  have  already  so  occupied  in  many  places.  You 
cannot  station  garrisons  in  every  part  of  these  deserts. 
If  you  drive  the  people  from  one  place,  they  will  carry 
on  their  annual  tillage  and  remove  with  their  flocks  and 

25  herds  to  another.      Many  of  the  people  in  the    back 
settlements  are  already  little  attached  to  particular  situ 
ations.  <^Already    they   have    topped    the    Appalachian 
Mountains^  From  thence  they  behold  before  them  an 
1  Even  though. 


Speech  on   Conciliation  71 

immense  plain,  one  vast,  rich,  level  meadow,  a  square 
of  five  hundred  miles.  Over  this  they  would  wander 
without  a  possibility  of  restraint;  they  would  change 
their  manners  with  the  habits  of  their  life ;  would  soon 
forget  a  government  by  which  they  were  disowned ;  5 
Avould  become  hordes  of  English  TartarsAand  pouring 
down  upon  your  unfortified  frontiers  a  fierce  and  irre 
sistible  cavalry,  become  masters  of  your  governors  and 
your  counsellors,  your  collectors  and  comptrollers,  and  of 
all  the  slaves  that  adhered  to  them.  Such  would,  and  10 
in  no  long  time  must,  be  the  effect  of  attempting  to  for 
bid  as  a  crime,  and  to  suppress  as  an  evil,  the  'command 
and  blessing  of  Providence,  "  Increase  and  multiply." 
Such  would  be  the  happy  result  of  an  endeavour  to  keep 
as  a  lair  of  wild  beasts  that  earth  which  God,  by  an  15 
express  charter,  has  given  to  the  children  of  men.  Far 
different  and  surely  much  wiser  has  been  our  policy 
hitherto.  Hitherto  we  have  invited  our  people,  by  every 
kind  of  bounty,  to  fixed  establishments.  We  have 
invited  the  husbandman  to  look  to  authority  for  his  title.  20 
We  have  taught  him  piously  to  believe  in  the  mysterious 
virtue  of  wax  and  parchment.  We  have  thrown  each 
tract  of  land,  as  it  was  peopled,  into  districts,  that  the 
ruling  power  should  never  be  wholly  out  of  sight.  We 
have  settled  all  we  could,  and  we  have  carefully  attended  25 
every  settlement  with  government. 

Adhering,  Sir,  as  I  do,  to  this  policy,  as  well  as  for  the 
reasons  I  have  just  given,  I  think  this  new  project  of  hedg- 
ing-in  population  to  be  neither  prudent  nor  practicable. 


72  Speech  on  Conciliation 

To  impoverish  the  colonies  in  general,  and  in  par 
ticular  to  arrest  the  noble  course  of  their  marine  enter 
prises,  would  be  a  more  easy  task.  I  freely  confess 
it.  We  have  shown  a  disposition  to  a  system  of  this 
5  kind,  — <|i  disposition  even  to  continue  the  restraint  after 
the  offence,  looking  on  ourselves  as  rivals  to  our  colonies, 
and  persuaded  that  of  course  we  must  gain  all  that  they 
shall  lose.N  Much  mischief  we  may  certainly  do.  The 
power  inadequate  to  all  other  things  is  often  more  than 

10  sufficient  for  this.  I  do  not  look  on  the  direct  and 
immediate  power  of  the  colonies  to  resist  our  violence  as 
very  formidable.  In  this,  however,  I  may  be  mistaken. 
But  when  I  consider\that  we  have  colonies  for  no  pur 
pose  but  to  be  serviceable  to  us,  it  seems  to  my  poor 

15  understanding  a  little  preposterous  to  make  them  un 
serviceable  in  order  to  keep  them  obedient.^  It  is,  in 
truth,  nothing  more  than  the  old  and,  as  I  thought,  ex 
ploded  l  problem  of  tyranny,  which  proposes  to  beggar  its 
subjects  into  submission.  But  remember,  when  you  have 

;o  completed  your  system  of  impoverishment,  that  Nature 
still  proceeds  in  her  ordinary  course ;  that  discontent 
will  increase  with  misery ;  and  that  there  are  critical 
moments  in  the  fortune  of  all  states,  when  they  who 
are  too  weak  to  contribute  to  your  prosperity  may  be 

25  strong  enough  to  complete  your  ruin.  Spoliatis  arma 
super sunt. 

The   temper    and    character    which    prevail    in    our 
colonies  are,  I  am  afraid,  unalterable  by  any  human  art. 
1  Discredited. 


Speech  on   Conciliation  73 

We  cannot,  I  fear,  falsify  the  pedigree  of  this  fierce  peo 
ple  and  persuade  them  that  they  are  not  sprung  from  a 
nation  in  whose  veins  the  blood  of  freedom  circulates. 
The  language  in  which  they  would  hear  you  tell  them 
this  tale  would  detect  the  imposition ;  your  speech  would  5 
betray  you.  An  Englishman  is  the  unfittest  person  on 
earth  to  argue  another  Englishman  into  slavery. 

I  think  it  is  nearly  as  little  in  our  power  to  change  their 
republican  religion  as  their  free  descent,  or  to  substitute 
the  Roman  Catholic  as  a  penalty,  or  the  Church  of  10 
England  as  an  improvement.  The  mode  of  inquisition 
and  dragooning  is  going  out  of  fashion  in  the  Old  World, 
and  I  should  not  confide  much  to  their  efficacy  in  the 
New.  The  education  of  the  Americans  is  also  on  the 
same  unalterable  bottom1  with  their  religion.  You  15 
cannot  persuade  them  to  burn  their  books  of  curious2 
science,  to  banish  their  lawyers  from  their  courts  of 
laws,  or  to  quench  the  lights  of  their  assemblies  by  re 
fusing  to  choose  those  persons  who  are  best  read  in  their 
privileges.  It  would  be  no  less  impracticable  to  think  of  20 
wholly  annihilating  the  popular  assemblies  in  which  these 
lawyers  sit.  The  army,  by  which  we  must  govern  in 
their  place,  would  be  far  more  chargeable 3  to  us ;  not 
quite  so  effectual ;  and  perhaps  in  the  end  full  as  difficult 
to  be  kept  in  obedience.  25 

With  regard  to  the  high  aristocratic  spirit  of  Virginia 
and  the  southern  colonies,  it  has  been  proposed,  I  know, 
to  reduce  it  by  declaring  a  general  enfranchisement  of 
1  Foundation.  2  Mysterious,  occult.  3  Costly. 


74  Speech   on  Conciliation 

their  slaves.  This  project  has  had  its  advocates  and  pane 
gyrists  ;  yet  I  never  could  argue  myself  into  any  opinion 
of  it.  Slaves  are  often  much  attached  to  their  masters. 
A  general  wild  offer  of  liberty  would  not  always  be 

5  accepted.  History  furnishes  few  instances  of  it.  It  is 
sometimes  as  hard  to  persuade  slaves  to  be  free  as  it  is 
to  compel  freemen  to  be  slaves ;  and  in  this  auspicious 
scheme  we  should  have  both  these  pleasing  tasks  on  our 
hands  at  once.  But  when  we  talk  of  enfranchisement, 

10  do  we  not  perceive  that  the  American  master  may 
enfranchise  too,  and  arm  servile  hands  in  defence  of 
freedom?  —  a  measure  to  which  other  people  have  had 
recourse  more  than  once,  and  not  without  success,  in 
a  desperate  situation  of  their  affairs. 

15  Slaves  as  these  unfortunate  black  people  are,  and  dull 
as  all  men  are  from  slavery,  must  they  not  a  little  suspect 
the  offer  of  freedom  from  that  very  nation  which  has  sold 
them  to  their  present  masters?  from  that  nation,  one  of 
whose  causes  of  quarrel  with  those  masters  is  their  refusal 

20  to  deal  any  more  in  that  inhuman  traffic?  An  offer  of 
freedom  from  England  would  come  rather  oddly,  shipped 
to  them  in  an  African  vessel,  which  is  refused  an  entry 
into  the  ports  of  Virginia  or  Carolina,  with  a  cargo  of  three 
hundred  Angola  negroes.  It  would  be  curious  to  see  the 

25  Guinea  captain  attempting  at  the  same  instant  to  publish 
his  proclamation  of  liberty  and  to  advertise  his  sale  of 
slaves. 

But  let  us  suppose  all  these  moral  difficulties  got  over. 
The  ocean  remains.     You  cannot  pump  this  dry  ;  and  as 


Speech  on   Conciliation  75 

'cng  as  it  continues  in  its  present  bed,  so  long  all  the 
causes  which  weaken  authority  by  distance  wilt  continue. 

Ye  gods,  annihilate  but  space  and  time, 
And  make  two  lovers  happy  ! 

was  a  pious  and  passionate  prayer,  but  just  as  reasonable  5 
as  many  of  the  serious  wishes  of  very  grave  and  solemn 
politicians. 

If  then,  Sir,  it  seems  almost  desperate  to  think  of  any 
alterative  course  for  changing  the  moral  causes  (and  not 
quite  easy  to  remove  the  natural)  which  produce  preju- 10 
dices  irreconcilable  to  the  late  exercise  of  our  authority, 
but  that  the  spirit  infallibly  will  continue  ;  and  continuing, 
will  produce  such  effects  as  now  embarrass  us,  —  the 
second  mode  under  consideration  is  to  prosecute  that 
spirit  in  its  overt  acts  as  criminal.  15 

At  this  proposition  I  must  pause  a  moment.  The 
thing  seems  a  great  deal  too  big  for  my  ideas  of  juris 
prudence.  It  should  seem,  to  my  way  of  conceiving  such 
matters,  that  there  is  a  very  wide  difference  in  reason  and 
policy  between  the  mode  of  proceeding  on  the  irregular  20 
conduct  of  scattered  individuals,  or  even  of  bands  of  men, 
who  disturb  order  within  the  state,  and  the  civil  dissensions 
which  may,  from  time  to  time,  on  great  questions,  agitate 
the  several  communities  which  compose  a  great  empire. 
It  looks  to  me  to  be  narrow  and  pedantic  to  apply  the  25 
ordinary  ideas  of  criminal  justice  to  this  great  public 
contest.  I  do  not  know  the  method. of  drawing  up  an  in- 
dictment  against  a  whole  people.  I  cannot  insult  and 


j6  Speech  on  Conciliation 

ridicule  the  feelings  of  millions  of  my  fellow-creatures,  as 
Sir  Edward  Coke  insulted  one  excellent  individual  (Sir 
Walter  Raleigh)  at  the  bar.  I  am  not  ripe  to  pass 
sentence  on  the  gravest  public  bodies,  entrusted  with 
5  magistracies  of -great  authority  and  dignity,  and  charged 
with  the  safety  of  their  fellow-citizens,  upon  the  very  same 
title  that  I  am.  I  really  think  that  for  wise  men  this  is 
not  judicious;  for  sober  men,  not  decent;  for  minds 
tinctured  l  with  humanity,  not  mild  and  merciful. 

10  Perhaps,  Sir,  I  am  mistaken  in  my  idea  of  an  empire 
as  distinguished  from  a  single  state  or  kingdom.  But  my 
idea  of  it  is  this :  that  an  empire  is  the  aggregate  of 
many  states  under  one  common  head,  whether  this  head 
be  a  monarch  or  a  presiding  republic.  It  does  in  such 

15  constitutions  frequently  happen  (and  nothing  but  the 
dismal,  cold,  dead  uniformity  of  servitude  can  prevent  its 
happening)  that  the  subordinate  parts  have  many  local 
privileges  and  immunities.  Between  these  privileges  and 
the  supreme  common  authority  the  line  may  be  extremely 

20  nice.2  Of  course  disputes  —  often,  too,  very  bitter  dis 
putes —  and  much  ill  blood  will  arise.  But  though  every 
privilege  is  an  exemption  (in  the  case)  from  the  ordinary 
exercise  of  the  supreme  authority,  it  is  no  denial  of  it. 
The  claim  of  a  privilege  seems  rather,  ex  vi  termini,  to 

25  imply  a  superior  power  ;  for  to  talk  of  the  privileges  of  a 

state  or  of  a  person  who  has  no  superior  is  hardly  any 

better  than  speaking  nonsense.     Now  in  such  unfortunate 

quarrels  among  the  component  parts  of  a  great  political 

1  Imbued.  2  Fine,  difficult  to  see. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  77 

/  • 

union  of  communities,M  can  scarcely  conceive  anything 

more  completely  imprudent  than  for  the  head  of  the 
empire  to  insist  that,  if  any  privilege  is  pleaded  against 
his  will  or  his  acts,  [that]  his  whole  authority  is  denied ; 
instantly  to  proclaim  rebellion,  to  beat  to  arms,  and  to  5 
put  the  offending  provinces  under  the  ban.  Will  not  this, 
Sir,  very  soon  teach  the  provinces  to  make  no  distinction 
on  their  part  ?  Will  it  not  teach  them  that  the  govern 
ment  against  which  a  claim  of  liberty  is  tantamount  to 
high  treason  is  a  government  to  which  submission  isio 
equivalent  to  slavery?  It  may  not  always  be  quite  con 
venient  to  impress  dependent  communities  with  such 
an  idea.  • 

We  are,  indeed,  in  all  disputes  with  the  colonies,  by 
the  necessity  of  things,  the  judge.  It  is  true,  Sir.  15 
But  I  confess  that  the  character  of  judge  in  my  own 
cause  is  a  thing  that  frightens  me.  Instead  of  filling  me 
with  pride,  I  am  exceedingly  humbled  by  it.  I  cannot 
proceed  with  a  stern,  assured,  judicial  confidence,  until 
I  find  myself  in  something  more  like  a  judicial  character.  20 
I  must  have  these  hesitations  as  long  as  I  am  compelled 
to  recollect  that,  in  my  little  reading  upon  such  contests 
as  these,  the  sense  of  mankind  has  at  least  as  often  de 
cided  against  the  superior  as  the  subordinate  power. 
Sir,  let  me  add,  too,  that  the  opinion  of  my  having  some  25 
abstract  right  in  my  favour  would  not  put  me  much  at  my 
ease  in  passing  sentence,  unless  I  could  be  sure  that  there 
were  no  rights  which,  in  their  exercise  under  certain  cir 
cumstances,  were  not  the  most  odious  of  all  wrongs  and 


78  Speech  on  Conciliation 

the  most  vexatious  of  all  injustice.  Sir,  these  considera 
tions  have  great  weight  with  me,  when  I  find  things  so 
circumstanced  that  I  see  the  same  party  at  once  a  civil 
litigant  against  me  in  point  of  right  and  a  culprit  before 
5  me,  while  I  sit  as  a  criminal  judge  on  acts  of  his,  whose 
moral  quality  is  to  be  decided  upon  the  merits  of  that 
very  litigation.  --.Men  are  every  now  and  then  put,  by 
the  complexity  of  human  affairs,  into  strange  situations ; 
but  justice  is  the  same,  let  the  judge  be  in  what  situation 

10  he  will. 

There  is,  Sir,  also  a  circumstance  which  convinces  me 
that  this  mode  of  criminal  proceeding  is  not  (at  least  in 
the  present  stage  of  our  contest)  altogether  expedient ; 
which  is  nothing  less  than  the  conduct  of  those  very 

15  persons  who  have  seemed  to  adopt  that  mode,  by 
lately  declaring  a  rebellion  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  as 
they  had  formerly  addressed1  to  have  traitors  brought 
hither,  under  an  act  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  for  trial.  For 
though  rebellion  is  declared,  it  is  not  proceeded  against 

20  as  such  ;  nor  have  any  steps  been  taken  towards  the 
apprehension  or  conviction  of  any  individual  offender, 
either  on  our  late  or  our  former  address ;  but  modes  of 
public  coercion  have  been  adopted,  and  such  as  have 
much  more  resemblance  to  a  sort  of  qualified  hostility 

25  towards  an  independent  power  than  the  punishment  of 
rebellious  subjects.  All  this  seems  rather  inconsistent ; 
but  it  shows  how  difficult  it  is  to  apply  these  juridical 
ideas  to  our  present  case. 

1  Petitioned 


Speech  on   Conciliation  79 

In  this  situation,  let  us  seriously  and  coolly  ponder. 
What  is  it  we  have  got  by  all  our  menaces,  which  have 
been  many  and  ferocious?  What  advantage  have  we 
derived  from  the  penal  laws  we  have  passed,  and  which, 
for  the  time,  have  been  severe  and  numerous?  What 5 
advances  have  we  made  towards  our  object,  by  the 
sending  of  a  force  which,  by  land  and  sea,  is  no  contemp 
tible  strength?  Has  the  disorder  abated?  Nothing 
less.  When  I  see  things  in  this  situation,  after  such 
confident  hopes,  bold  promises  and  active  exertions,  10 
I  cannot  for  my  life  avoid  a  suspicion  that  the  plan  itself 
is  not  correctly  l  right. 

\If,  then,  the  removal  of  the  causes  of  this  spirit 
of  American  liberty  be  for  the  greater  part,  or  rather 
entirely,  impracticable ;  if  the  ideas  of  criminal  process  15 
be  inapplicable,  or,  if  applicable,  are  in  the  highest  de 
gree  inexpedient;  what  way  yet  remains?  No  way  is 
open  but  the  third  and  last,  —  to  comply  with  the  Ameri- 
can  spirit  as  necessary ;  or,  if  you  please,  to  submit  to  it 
as  a  necessary  evil.>  20 

^If  we  adopt  this  mode,  if  we  mean  to  conciliate  and 
concede,  let  us  see  of  what  nature  the  concession  ought 
"to  be.     To  ascertain   the  nature  of  our  concession,  we 
must    look  at  their  complaint.     The   colonies  complain 
that  they  have  not  the  characteristic  mark  and  seal 
British  freedom.     They  complain  that  they  are  taxed  in 
a  Parliament  in  which  they  are  not  represented. Cj/  you 
mean  to  satisfy  them  at  all,  you  must  satisfy  them  with 
1  Exactly. 


8o  Speech  on  Conciliation 

regard  to  this  complaint.  If  you  mean  to  please  any 
people,  you  must  give  them  the  boon  which  they  ask,  — 
not  what  you  may  think  better  for  them,  but  of  a  kind 
totally  different.  Such  an  act  may  be  a  wise  regulation, 
5  but  it  is  no  concession ;  whereas  our  present  theme  is  the 
mode  of  giving  satisfaction. 

Sir,  I  think  you  must  perceive  that  I  am  resolved  this 
day  to  have  nothing  at  all  to  do  with  the  question  of 
the  right  of  taxation.  Some  gentlemen  startle,1  but  it 

10  is  true ;  I  put  it  totally  out  of  the  question.  It  is  less 
than  nothing  in  my  consideration.  I  do  not  indeed  won 
der,  nor  will  you,  Sir,  that  gentlemen  of  profound  learn 
ing  are  fond  of  displaying  it  on  this  profound  subject. 
But  my  consideration  is  narrow,  confined,  and  wholly 

15  limited  to  the  policy  of  the  question.  I  do  not  examine 
whether  the  giving  away  a  man's  money  be  a  power  ex- 
cepted  and  reserved  out  of  the  general  trust  of  govern 
ment,  and  how  far  all  mankind,  in  all  forms  of  polity, 
are  entitled  to  an  exercise  of  that  right  by  the  charter  of 

20  Nature ;  or  whether,  on  the  contrary,  a  right  of  taxation 
is  necessarily  involved  in  the  general  principle  of  legisla 
tion  and  inseparable  from  the  ordinary  supreme  power. 
These  are  deep  questions,  where  great  names  militate 
against  each  other,  where  reason  is  perplexed,  and  an 

25  appeal  to  authorities  only  thickens  the  confusion  :  for 
high  and  reverend  authorities  lift  up  their  heads  on  both 
sides,  and  there  is  no  sure  footing  in  the  middle.  This 
point  is  the  great 

1  Are  startled. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  81 

Serbonian  bog, 

Betwixt  Damiata  and  Mount  Casius  old, 
Where  armies  whole  have  sunk. 

I  do  not  intend  to  be  overwhelmed  in  that  bog,  though 
in  such  respectable  company.  \The  question  with  me  is,  5 
not  whether  you  have  a  right  to  render  your  people  mis 
erable,  but  whether  it  is  not  your  interest  to  make  them 
happy!S  It  is  not  what  a  lawyer  tells  me  I  may  do,  but\ 
what  Humanity,  reason  and  justice  tell  me  I  ought  to  do.l 
Is  a  politic  act  the  worse  for  being  a  generous  one?      I£  10 
no  concession  proper  but  that  which  is  made  from  your 
want  of  right  to  keep  what  you  grant?     Or  does  it  lessen 
the  grace  or   dignity  of   relaxing  in  the   exercise  of  an 
odious  claim,  because  you  have  your  evidence-room  full 
of  titles  and  your  magazines  stuffed  with  arms  to  enforce  13 
them?     What  signify  all  those  titles  and  all  those  arms? 
Of  what  avail   are  they,  when  the  reason  of  the  thing 
tells  me  that  the  assertion  of  my  title  is  the  loss  of  my 
suit,  and  that  I  could  do  nothing  but  wound  myself  by 
the  use  of  my  own  weapons  ?  20 

Such  is  steadfastly  my  opinion  of  the  absolute  necessity 
of  keeping  up  the  concord  of  this  empire  by  a  unity  of 
spirit,  though  in  a  diversity  of  operations,  that  if  I  were 
sure  the  colonists  had  at  their  leaving  this  country 
sealed  a  regular  compact  of  servitude,  that  they  had  25 
solemnly  abjured  all  the  rights  of  citizens,  that  they  had 
made  a  vow  to  renounce  all  ideas  of  liberty  for  them  and 
their  posterity  to  all  generations ;  yet  I  should  hold 
myself  obliged  to  conform  to  the  temper  I  found  univer- 

BURKE   ON    CONCILIATION  —  6 


82  Speech  on   Conciliation 

sally  prevalent  in  ray  own  day,  and  to  govern  two  million 
of  men,  impatient  of  servitude,  on  the  principles  of  free 
dom.  I  am  not  determining  a  point  of  law ;  I  am 
restoring  tranquillity ;  and  the  general  character  and 

5  situation  of  a  people  must  determine  what  sort  of  govern 
ment  is  fitted  for  them.  That  point  nothing  else  can  or 
ought  to  determine. 

My  idea,  therefore,  without  considering  whether  we 
yield  as  matter  of  right  or  grant  as  matter  of  favour,  is 

ro  to  admit  the  people  of  our  colonies  into  an  interest  in  the 
Constitution;  and  by  recording  that  admission  in  the 
journals  of  Parliament,  to  give  them  as  strong  an  assur 
ance  as  the  nature  of  the  thing  will  admit,  that  we  mean 
forever  to  adhere  to  that  solemn  declaration  of  systematic 

15  indulgence. 

Some  years  ago,  the  repeal  of  a  revenue  act,  upon  its 
understood  principle,  might  have  served  to  show  that  we 
intended  an  unconditional  abatement *  of  the  exercise 
of  a  taxing  power.  Such  a  measure  was  then  sufficient 

20  to  remove  all  suspicion  and  to  give  perfect  content.  But 
unfortunate  events  since  that  time  may  make  something 
further  necessary ;  and  not  more  necessary  for  the  satis 
faction  of  the  colonies  than  for  the  dignity  and  con 
sistency  of  our  own  future  proceedings. 

25      I  have  taken  a  very  incorrect  measure  of  the  disposi 
tion   of  the  House,  if  this  proposal  in  itself  would  be 
received  with  dislike.     I  think,  Sir,  we  have  few  Ameri 
can  financiers.     But  our  misfortune  is,  we  are  too  acute  ; 
1  Suspension. 


Speech  on   Conciliation  83 

we  are  too  exquisite1  in  our  conjectures  of  the  future, 
for  men  oppressed  with  such  great  and  present  evils. 
The  more  moderate  among  the  opposers  of  parliamen 
tary  concession  freely  confess  that  they  hope  no  good 
from  taxation  ;  but  they  apprehend  the  colonists  have  5 
further  views,  and  if  this  point  were  conceded,  they 
would  instantly  attack  the  trade  laws.  These  gentlemen 
are  convinced  that  this  was  the  intention  from  the  begin 
ning,  and  the  quarrel  of  the  Americans  with  taxation 
was  no  more  than  a  cloak  and  cover  to  this  design.  10 
Such  has  been  the  language,  even  of  a  gentleman2  of 
real  moderation  and  of  a  natural  temper  well  adjusted  to 
fair  and  equal  government.  I  am,  however,  Sir,  not  a 
little  surprised  at  this  kind  of  discourse  whenever  I  hear 
it  ;  and  I  am  the  more  surprised  on  account  of  the  argu-  15 
ments  which  I  constantly  find  in  company  with  it,  and 
which  are  often  urged  from  the  same  mouths  and  on  the 
same  day. 

For  instance,  when  we  allege  that  it  is  against  reason 
to  tax  a  people  under  so  many  restraints  in  trade  as  the  20 
Americans,  the  noble  lord  in  the  blue  ribbon3  shall  tell 
you  that  the  restraints  on  trade  are  futile  and  useless,  of 
no  advantage  to  us,  and  of  no  burden  to  those  on  whom 
they  are  imposed  ;    that    the    trade    to  America  is   not 
secured  by  the  Acts  of  Navigation,  but  by  the  natural  25 
and  irresistible  advantage  of  a  commercial  preference. 
v1$uch  is  the   merit  of  the   trade  laws   in   this   posture 

1  Careful,  detailed.  2  George  Rice. 

3  Lord  North. 


84  Speech  on  Conciliation 

of  the  debate.  But  when  strong  internal  circumstances 
are  urged  against  the  taxes:  when  the  scheme  is  dis 
sected  ;  when  experience  and  the  nature  of  things  are 
brought  to  prove,  and  do  prove,  the  utter  impossibility 
5  of  obtaining  ah  effective  revenue  from  the  colonies ;  — 
_when  these  things  are  pressed,  or  rather  press  them 
selves,  so  as  to  drive  the  advocates  of  colony  taxes  to  a 
clear  admission  of  the  futility  of  the  scheme ;  then,  Sir, 
the  sleeping  trade  laws  revive  from  their  trance,  and  this 

10  useless  taxation  is  to  be  kept  sacred,  not  for  its  own  sake^ 
but  as  a  counterguard  and  security  of  the  laws  of  trade/* 

Then,  Sir,  you  keep  up  revenue  laws  which  are  mis 
chievous  in  order  to  preserve  trade  laws  that  are  useless. 
Such  is  the  wisdom  of  our  plan  in  both  its  members. 

15  They  are  separately  given  up  as  of  no  value  ;  and  yet 
one  is  always  to  be  defended  for  the  sake  of  the  other. 
But  I  cannot  agree  with  the  noble  lord,  nor  with  the 
pamphlet  from  whence  he  seems  to  have  borrowed  these 
ideas,  concerning  the  inutility  of  the  trade  laws  ;  for  with- 

20  out  idolizing  them,  I  am  sure  they  are  still  in  many  ways 
of  great  use  to  us,  and  in  former  times  they  have  been 
of  the  greatest.  They  do  confine,  and  they  do  greatly 
narrow,  the  market  for  the  Americans.  But  my  perfect 
conviction  of  this  does  not  help  me  in  the  least  to  dis- 

25  cern  how  the  revenue  laws  form  any  security  whatsoever 
to  the  commercial  regulations ;  or  that  these  commercial 
regulations  are  the  true  ground  of  the  quarrel ;  or  that 
the  giving  way  in  any  one  instance  of  authority  is  to  lose 
all  that  may  remain  unconceded. 


<r 

Speech  on   Conciliation  85 

One  fact  is  clear  and  indisputable  :  the  public  and 
avowed  origin  of  this  quarrel  was  on  taxation.  This 
quarrel  has  indeed  brought  on  new  disputes  on  new  ques 
tions  ;  but  certainly  the  least  bitter  and  the  fewest  of  all 
on  the  trade  laws.  To  judge  which  of  the  two  be  the  5 
real,  radical  cause  of  quarrel,  we  have  to  see  whether 
the  commercial  dispute  did,  in  order  of  time,  precede 
the  dispute  on  taxation.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of 
evidence  for  it.  Next,  to  enable  us  to  judge  whether 
at  this  moment  a  dislike  to  the  trade  laws  be  the  real  10 
cause  of  quarrel,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  put  the 
taxes  out  of  the  question  by  a  repeal.  See  how  the 
Americans  act  in  this  position,  and  then  you  will  be  able 
to  discern  correctly  what  is  the  true  object  of  the  con 
troversy,  or  whether  any  controversy  at  all  will  remain.  15 
Unless  you  consent  to  remove  this  cause  of  difference, 
it  is  impossible  with  decency  to  assert  that  the  dispute  is 
not  upon  what  it  is  avowed  to  be.  And  I  would,  Sir, 
recommend  to  your  serious  consideration,  whether  it  be 
-~  prudent  to  form  a  rule  for  punishing  people,  not  on  their  20 
own  acts,  but  on  your  conjectures.  Surely  it  is  prepos 
terous  at  the  very  best.  It  is  not  justifying  your  anger 
by  their  misconduct,  but  it  is  converting  your  ill-will  into 
their  delinquency. 

But  the  colonies  will  go  further.      Alas  !  alas/  when  25 
will  this  speculating  against  fact  and  reason  end  ?     What 
will  quiet   these   panic  fears  which  we  entertain  of  the 
hostile  effect  of  a  conciliatory  conduct  ?     Is  it  true  that 
no  case  can  exist  in  which  it  is  proper  for  the  sovereign 


86  Speech  on  Conciliation 

to  accede  to  the  desires  cf  his  discontented  subjects  ? 
Is  there  anything  peculiar  in  this  case  to  make  a  rule  for 
itself?  Is  all  authority  of  course  lost,  when  it  is  not 
pushed  to  the  extreme?  Is  it  a  certain1  maxim  that  the 
5  fewer  causes  of  dissatisfaction  are  leff  by  government,  the 
more  the  subject  will  be  inclined  to  resist  and  rebel  ? 

All  these  objections  being  in  fact  no  more  than  sus 
picions,  conjectures,  divinations,-  formed  in  defiance  of 
fact  and  experience,  they  did  not,  Sir,  discourage  me 

io  from  entertaining  the  idea  of  a  conciliatory  concession, 
founded  on  the  principles  which  I  have  just  stated. 

In  forming  a  plan  for  this  purpose,  I  endeavoured  to 
put  myself  in  that  frame  of  mind  which  was  the  most 
natural  and  the  most  reasonable,  and  which  was  certainly 

15  the  most  probable  means  of  securing  me  from  all  error. 
I  set  out  with  a  perfect  distrust  of  my  own  abilities,  a 
total  renunciation  of  every  speculation  of  my  own,  and 
with  a  profound  reverence  for  the  wisdom  of  our  an 
cestors,  who  have  left  us  the  inheritance  of  so  happy  a 

20  constitution  and  so  flourishing  an  empire,  and,  what  is 
a  thousand  times  more  valuable,  the  treasury  of  the 
maxims  and  principles  which  formed  the  one  and 
obtained  the  other. 

During  the  reigns  of  the  kings  of  Spain  of  the  Austrian 

25  family,   whenever  they  were  at   a   loss   in   the    Spanish 

councils,  it  was  common  for  their  statesmen  to  say  that 

they  ought  to  consult  the  genius  of  Philip  the  Second. 

The  genius  of  Philip  the  Second  might  mislead  them; 

*  Sound.  2  Surmises. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  87 

and  the  issue  of  their  affairs  showed  that  they  had  not 
chosen  the  most  perfect  standard.  But,  Sir,  I  am  sure 
that  I  shall  not  be  misled  when,  in  a  case  of  constitu 
tional  difficulty,  I  consult  the  genius  of  the  English 
Constitution.  Consulting  at  that  oracle  (it  was  with  all  5 
due  humility  and  piety),  I  found  four  capital  examples 
in  a  similar  case  before  me :  those  of  Ireland,  Wales, 
Chester  and  Durham. 

Ireland,  before  the  English  conquest,  though  never 
governed  by  a  despotic  power,  had  no  Parliament.  How  10 
far  the  English  Parliament  itself  was  at  that  time  mod 
elled  according  to  the  present  form  is  disputed  among 
antiquarians.  But  we  have  all  the  reason  in  the  world 
to  be  assured  that  a  form  of  Parliament  such  as  England 
then  enjoyed  she  instantly  communicated  to  Ireland  ;  15 
and  we  are  equally  sure  that  almost  every  successive 
improvement  in  constitutional  liberty,  as  fast  as  it  was 
made  here,  was  transmitted  thither.  The  feudal  baron 
age  and  the  feudal  knighthood,  the  roots  of  our  primitive 
constitution,  were  early  transplanted  into  that  soil,  and  20 
grew  and  flourished  there.  Alagna  Charta,  if  it  did  not 
give  us  originally  a  House  of  Commons,  gave  us  at 
least  a  House  of  Commons  of  weight  and  consequence. 
But  your  ancestors,  did  not  churlishly  sit  down  alone 
to  the  feast  of  Magna  Charta.  .  Ireland  was  made  1111-25 
mediately  a  partaker.  This  benefit  of  English  laws  and 
liberties,  I  confess,  was  not  at  first  extended  to  all 
Ireland.  Mark  the  consequence.  English  authority 
and  English  liberties  had  exactly  the  same  boundaries 


88  Speech  on  Conciliation 

Your  standard  could  never  be  advanced  an  inch  before 
your  privileges.  Sir  John  Davies  shows  beyond  a  doubt 
that  the  refusal  of  a  general  communication  of  these 
rights  was  the  true  cause  why  Ireland  was  five  hundred 

5  years  in  subduing1 ;  and  after  the  vain  projects  of  a  mili 
tary  government,  attempted  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Eliza 
beth,  it  was  soon  discovered  that  nothing  could  make 
that  country  English,  in  civility2  and  allegiance,  but  your 
laws  and  your  forms  of  legislature.  It  was  not  English 

10  arms,  but  the  English  Constitution,  that  conquered  Ire 
land.  From  that  time  Ireland  has  ever  had  a  general 
Parliament,  as  she  had  before  a  partial  Parliament.  You 
changed  the  people,  you  altered  the  religion,  but  you 
never  touched  the  form  or  the  vital  substance  of  free 

15  government  in  that  kingdom.  You  deposed  kings  ;  you 
restored  them ;  you  altered  the  succession  to  theirs  as 
well  as  to  your  own  crown  ;  but  you  never  altered  their 
constitution,  the  principle  of  which  was  respected  by 
usurpation,  restored  with  the  restoration  of  monarchy, 

20  and  established,  I  trust,  forever  by  the  glorious  Revolu 
tion.  This  has  made  Ireland  the  great  and  flourishing 
kingdom  that  it  is  :  and  from  a  disgrace  and  a  burden 
intolerable  to  this  nation,  has  rendered  her  a  principal 
part  of  her  strength  and  ornament.  This  country  cannot 

25  be  said  to  have  ever  formally  taxed  her.  <  The  irregular 
things  done  in  the  confusion  of  mighty  troubles  and  on 
the  hinge 3  of  great  revolutions,  even  if  all  were  done  that 

1  Being  subdued.  2  Civilization.  3  Eve. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  89 

is  said  to  have  been  done,  form  no  example.^  If  they 
have  any  effect  in  argument,  they  make  an  exception  to 
prove  the  rule.  None  of  your  own  liberties  could  stand 
a  moment  if  the  casual  deviations  from  them  at  such 
times  were  suffered  to  be  used  as  proofs  of  their  nullity.  5 
By  the  lucrative  amount  of  such  casual  breaches  in  the 
Constitution,  judge  what  the  stated  and  fixed  rule  of  sup 
ply  has  been  in  that  kingdom.  Your  Irish  pensioners 
would  starve  if  they  had  no  other  fund  to  live  on  than 
taxes  granted  by  English  authority.  Turn  your  eyes  to  10 
those  popular  grants  from  whence  all  your  great  supplies 
are  come,  and  learn  to  respect  that  only  source  of  public 
wealth  in  the  British  Empire. 

My  next  example  is  Wales.      This  country  was  said 
to  be  reduced  by  Henry  the  Third.     It  was  said  more  15 
truly  to  be  so  by  Edward  the  First.     But  though  then 
conquered,  it  was  not  looked  upon  as  any  part  of  the 
realm  of  England.     Its  old  constitution,  whatever  that 
might  have  been,  was  destroyed,  and  no  good  one  was 
substituted  in  its  place.     The  care  of  that  tract ]  was  put  20 
into  the  hands  of  Lords  Marchers,  —  a  form  of  govern 
ment  of  a  very  singular  kind,  a  strange,  heterogeneous 
monster,  something  between  hostility  and  government : 
perhaps  it  has  a  sort  of  resemblance,  according  to  the 
modes2  of  those  times,  to  that  of  commander-in-chief  at 25 
present,  to  whom  all  civil  power  is  granted  as  secondary. 
The  manners  of  the  Welsh  nation  followed  the  genius 

1  Region.  2  Usages. 


90  Speech  on  Conciliation 

of  the  government :  the  people  were  ferocious,  restive, 
savage,  and  uncultivated,  sometimes  composed,1  never 
pacified.  Wales,  within  itself,  was  in  perpetual  disorder, 
and  it  kept  the  frontier  of  England  in  perpetual  alarm. 

5  Benefits  from  it  to  the  state  there  were  none.    Wales  was 
only  known  to  England  by  incursion  and  invasion. 

Sir,  during  that  state  of  things  Parliament  was  not  idle.. 

•  They  attempted  to  subdue  the  fierce  spirit  of  the  Welsh 
by  all  sorts  of  rigorous  laws.     They  prohibited  by  statute 

10  the  sending  all  sorts  of  arms  into  Wales,  as  you  prohibit 
by  proclamation  (with  something  more  of  doubt  on  the 
legality)  the  sending  arms  to  America.  They  disarmed 
the  Welsh  by  statute,  as  you  attempted  (but  still  with 
more  question  on  the  legality)  to  disarm  New  England 

15  by  an  instruction.  They  made  an  act  to  drag  offenders 
from  Wales  into  England  for  trial,  as  you  have  done  (but 
with  more  hardship)  with  regard  to  America.  By  another 
act,  where  one  of  the  parties  was  an  Englishman,  they 
ordained  that  his  trial  should  be  always  by  English. 

20  They  made  acts  to  restrain  trade,  as  you  do ;  and  they 
prevented  the  Welsh  from  the  use  of  fairs  and  markets, 
as  you  do  the  Americans  from  fisheries  and  foreign  ports. 
In  short,  when  the  statute-book  was  not  quite  so  much 
swelled  as  it  is  now,  you  find  no  less  than  fifteen  acts 

25  of  penal  regulation  on  the  subject  of  Wales. 

Here  we  rub  our  hands  —  A  fine  body  of  precedents 
for  the  authority  of  Parliament  and  the  use  of  it!  —  I 
admit  it  fully  ;  and  pray  add  likewise  to  these  precedents, 
1  Quieted. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  91 

that  all  the  while  Wales  rid  this  kingdom  like  an  incubus; 
that  it  was  an  unprofitable  and  oppressive  burden ;  and 
that  an  Englishman*  travelling  in  that  country  could  not 
go  six  yards  from  the  high-road  without  being  murdered. 

The  march  of  the  human  mind  is  slow.     Sir,  it  was  5 
not  until  after  two  hundred  years  discovered  that  by  an 
eternal  law  Providence  had  decreed  vexation  to  violence, 
and  poverty  to  rapine.     Your  ancestors  did,  however,  at 
length  open  their  eyes  to  the  ill-husbandry  of  injustice. 
They  found  that  the  tyranny  of  a  free  people  could  of  all  10 
tyrannies    the    least    be    endured,   and    that   laws    made 
against  an   whole  nation   were    not    the    most    effectual 
methods  for  securing  its  obedience.     Accordingly,  in  the 
twenty-seventh  year  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  the  course  was 
entirely  altered.     With  a  preamble  stating  the  entire  and  15 
perfect  rights  of  the  crown  of   England,  it  gave  to  the 
Welsh  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  English  subjects. 
A  political  order  was  established  ;  the  military  power  gave 
way  to  the  civil ;  the  marches  were  turned  into  counties. 
But  that  a  nation  should  have  a  right  to  English  liberties,  20 
and  yet  no  share  at  all  in  the  fundamental  security  of 
these    liberties,  —  the    grant    of  their   own    property,  — 
seemed  a  thing  so  incongruous  that  eight  years  after,  — 
that  is,  in  the   thirty-fifth  of  that  reign,  —  a    complete 
and  not  ill-proportioned  representation  by  counties  and  25 
boroughs  was  bestowed  upon  Wales  by  act  of  Parliament. 
From  that  moment,  as  by  a  charm,  the  tumults  subsided  ; 
obedience  was    restored ;  peace,  order  and    civilization 
followed  in  the  train  of  liberty.     When  the  day-star  of  the 


92  Speech  on  Conciliation 

English  Constitution  had  arisen  in  their  hearts,  all  was 
harmony  within  and  without :  — 

—  Simul  alba  nautis 

Stella  refulsiV 
5  Defluit  saxis  agitatus  humor; 

Concidunt  venti,  fugi unique  nubes, 
Et  minax-  (quod  sic  voluere)  ponto 

Unda  recumbil.  i^ 

The  very  same  year  the  County  Palatine  of  Chester 

10  received    the    same    relief    from    its    oppressions   and 

the    same    remedy    to   its  disorders.     Before    this    time 

Chester  was  little  less  distempered1  than  Wales.     The 

inhabitants,  without  rights  themselves,  were   the    fittest 

to  destroy  the  rights  of  others  ;  and  from  thence  Richard 

15  the  Second  drew  the  standing  army  of  archers  with  which 

for  a  time  he  oppressed  England.     The  people  of  Chester 

applied  to  Parliament  in  a  petition  penned  as  I  shall  read 

to  you  :  — 

To  the  King  our  Sovereign  Lord,  in  most  humble  wise  shewen  2 
20  unto  your  most  excellent  Majesty  the  inhabitants  of  your  Grace's 
County  Palatine  of  Chester:   (i)  That  where3   the   said   County 
Palatine  of  Chester  is  and  hath  been  always  hitherto  exempt,  ex 
cluded  and  separated  out  and  from  your  high  court  of  Parliament, 
to  have  any  knights  and  burgesses  within  the  said  court;   by  reason 
25  whereof  the  said  inhabitants  have  hitherto  sustained  manifold  dis 
herisons,4   losses  and  damages,  as  well  in   their    lands,  goods   and 
bodies,  as  in  the  good,  civil  and  politic  governance  and  maintenance 
of  the  commonwealth  of  their  said  country.     (2)  And  forasmuch 

1  Disordered.  2  Show.    The  form  is  obsolete. 

3  Whereas.  *  Deprivations. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  93 

as  the  said  inhabitants  have  always  hitherto  been  bound  by  the  acts 
and  statues  made  and  ordained  by  your  said  Highness  and  your 
most  noble  progenitors,  by  authority  of  the  said  court,  as  far  forth 
as  other  counties,  cities  and  boroughs  have  been,  that  have  had 
their  knights  and  burgesses  within  your  said  court  of  Parliament,  5 
and  yet  have  had  neither  knight  ne l  burgess  there  for  the  said 
County  Palatine;  the  said  inhabitants,  for  lack  thereof,  have  been 
oftentimes  touched  and  grieved  with  acts  and  statutes  made  within 
the  said  court,  as  well  derogatory  unto  the  most  ancient  jurisdictions, 
liberties  and  privileges  of  your  said  County  Palatine,  as  prejudicial  10 
unto  the  commonwealth,  quietness,  rest  and  peace  of  your  Grace's 
most  bounden  subjects  inhabiting  within  the  same. 

What   did    Parliament   with    this   audacious    address? 
Reject  it  as  a  libel  ?     Treat  it  as  an  affront  to  government  ? 
Spurn  it  as  a  derogation  from  the  rights  of  legislature  ?  15 
Did    they    toss    it    over    the     table?      Did    they   burn 
it  by  the  hands  of  the  common  hangman?     They  took 
the  petition  of  grievance,  all  rugged  as  it   was,  without 
softening   or   temperament, 2   unpurged    of  the   original 
bitterness  and  indignation  of  complaint;  they  made  it 20 
the  very  preamble  to  their  act  of  redress,  and  consecrated 
its  principle  to  all  ages  in  the  sanctuary  of  legislation. 

Here  is  my  third  example.  It  was  attended  with  the 
success  of  the  two  former.  Chester,  civilized  as  well  as 
Wales,  has  demonstrated  that  freedom,  and  not  servitude,  25 
is  the  cure  for  anarchy ;  as  religion,  and  not  atheism,  is 
the  true  remedy  for  superstition.  Sir,  this  pattern  of 
Chester  was  followed  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second 
with  regard  to  the  County  Palatine  of  Durham,  which  is 

1  Nor.  2  Modification. 


94  Speech  on   Conciliation 

my  fourth  example.  This  county  had  long  lain  out  of  the 
pale  of  free  legislation.  So  scrupulously  was  the  example 
of  Chester  followed,  that  the  style  of  the  preamble  is 
nearly  the  same  with l  that  of  the  Chester  act ;  and 
5  without  affecting  the  abstract  extent  of  the  authority  of 
Parliament,  it  recognizes  the  equity  of  not  suffering  any 
considerable  district  in  which  the  British  subjects  may 
act  as  a  body,  to  be  taxed  without  their  own  voice  in  the 
grant. 

10  Now  if  the  doctrines  of  policy  contained  in  these  pre 
ambles  and  the  force  of  these  examples  in  the  acts  of 
Parliaments  avail  anything,  what  can  be  said  against 
applying  them  with  regard  to  America?  Are  not  the 
people  of  America  as  much  Englishmen  as  the  Welsh  ?  The 

15  preamble  of  the  act  of  Henry  the  Eighth  says  the  Welsh 
speak  a  language  no  way  resembling  that  of  his  Majesty's 
English  subjects.  Are  the  Americans  not  as  numerous? 
If  we  may  trust  the  learned  and  accurate  Judge  Barring- 
ton's  account  of  North  Wales,  and  take  that  as  a  standard 

20  to  measure  the  rest,  there  is  no  comparison.  The 
people  cannot  amount  to  above  200,000, — not  a  tenth 
part  of  the  number  in  the  colonies.  Is  America  in 
rebellion?  Wales  was  hardly  ever  free  from  it.  Have 
you  attempted  to  govern  America  by  penal  statutes? 

25  You  made  fifteen  for  Wales.  But  your  legislative  au 
thority  is  perfect  with  regard  to  America.  Was  it  less 
perfect  in  Wales,  Chester,  and  Durham?  But  America 
is  virtually2  represented.  What  \  does  the  electric  force 
1  As.  2  Essentially,  though  not  actually. 


Speech  on   Conciliation  95 

of  virtual  representation  more  easily  pass  over  the  Atlan 
tic  than  pervade  Wales,  which  lies  in  your  neighbourhood  ? 
or  than  Chester  and  Durham,  surrounded  by  abundance 
of  representation  that  is  actual  and  palpable  ?  But,  Sir, 
your  ancestors  thought  this  sort  of  virtual  representation,  5 
however  ample,  to  be  totally  insufficient  for  the  freedom 
of  the  inhabitants  of  territories  that  are  so  near  and  com 
paratively  so  inconsiderable.  How  then  can  I  think  it 
sufficient  for  those  which  are  infinitely  greater  and  in 
finitely  more  remote  ?  10 

You  will  now,  Sir,  perhaps  imagine  that  I  am  on 
the  point  of  proposing  to  you  a  scheme  for  a  representa 
tion  of  the  colonies  in  Parliament.  Perhaps  I  might  be 
inclined  to  entertain  some  such  thought ;  but  a  great 
flood  stops  me  in  my  course.  Opposuit  natura  —  I  can- 15 
not  remove  the  eternal  barriers  of  the  creation.  The 
thing,  in  that  mode,  I  do  not  know  to  be  possible.  As 
I  meddle  with  no  theory,  I  do  not  absolutely  assert  the 
impracticability  of  such  a  representation  :  but  I  do  not 
see  my  way  to  it ;  and  those  who  have  been  more  confi-  20 
dent  have  not  been  more  successful.  However,  the  arm 
of  public  benevolence  is  not  shortened,  and  there  are 
often  several  means  to  the  same  end.  What  Nature  has 
disjoined  in  one  way  Wisdom  may  unite  in  another. 
When  we  cannot  give  the  benefit  as  we  would  wish,  let  25 
us  not  refuse  it  altogether.  If  we  cannot  give  the  prin 
cipal,  let  us  find  a  substitute.  But  how?  Where?  What 
substitute? 

Fortunately    I    am    not    obliged    for    the   ways    and 


96  Speech  on  Conciliation 

means  of  this  substitute  to  tax  my  own  unproductive  in 
vention.  I  am  not  even  obliged  to  go  to  the  rich  treas 
ury  of  the  fertile  framers  of  imaginary  commonwealths ; 
not  to  the  Republic  of  Plato,  not  to  the  Utopia  of  More, 
5  not  to  the  Oceana  of  Harrington.  It  is  before  me ;  it 
is  at  my  feet,  — 

And  the  rude  swain 
Treads  daily  on  it  with  his  clouted  shoon. 

I  only  wish  you   to    recognize,  for  the    theory,  the  an- 

to  cient  constitutional  policy  of  this  kingdom  with  regard 
to  representation,  as  that  policy  has  been  declared  in  acts 
of  Parliament ;  and  as  to  the  practice,  to  return  to  that 
mode  which  a  uniform  experience  has  marked  out  to  you 
as  best,  and  in  which  you  walked  with  security,  advan- 

15  tage  and  honour  until  the  year  1763. 

My  resolutions,  therefore,  mean  to  establish  the  equity 
and  justice  of  a  taxation  of  America  by  grant,  and  not  by 
imposition ;  to  mark  the  legal  competency  of  the  colony 
assemblies  for  the  support  of  their  government  in  peace 

20  and  for  public  aids  in  time  of  war ;  to  acknowledge  that 
this  legal  competency  has  had  a  dutiful  and  beneficial 
exercise,  and  that  experience  has  shown  the  benefit  of 
their  grants  and  the  futility  of  parliamentary  taxation 
as  a  method  of  supply. 

25  These  solid  truths  compose  six  fundamental  proposi 
tions.  There  are  three  more  resolutions  corollary  to 
these.  If  you  admit  the  first  set,  you  can  hardly  reject 
the  others.  But  if  you  admit  the  first,  I  shall  be  far 


Speech  on   Conciliation  97 

from  solicitous  whether  you  accept  or  refuse  the  last.  I 
think  these  six  massive  pillars  will  be  of  strength  suffi 
cient  to  support  the  temple  of  British  concord.  I  have 
no  more  doubt  than  I  entertain  of  my  existence  that,  if 
you  admitted  these,  you  would  command  an  immediate  f 
peace,  and,  with  but  tolerable  future  management,  a  last 
ing  obedience  in  America.  I  am  not  arrogant  in  this 
confident  assurance.  The  propositions  are  all  mere 
matters  of  fact ;  and  if  they  are  such  facts  as  draw 
irresistible  conclusions  even  in  the  stating,  this  is  the  10 
power  of  truth,  and  not  any  management  of  mine. 

Sir,  I  shall  open  the  whole  plan  to  you,  together  with 
such  observations  on  the  motions  as  may  tend  to  illus 
trate  them  where  they  may  want  explanation.  The  first 
is  a  resolution,  —  I$ 

That  the  colonies  and  plantations  of  Great  Britain  in  North 
America,  consisting  of  fourteen  separate  governments,  and  con 
taining  two  millions  and  upwards  of  free  inhabitants,  have  not  had 
the  liberty  and  privilege  of  electing  and  sending  any  knights  and 
burgesses,  or  others,  to  represent  them  in  the  high  court  of  Parlia-  20 
ment. 

This  is  a  plain  matter  of  fact,  necessary  to  be  laid  down, 
and  (excepting  the  description)  it  is  laid  down  in  the 
language  of  the  constitution ;  it  is  taken  nearly  verbatim 
from  acts  of  Parliament.  25 

The  second  is  like  unto  the  first,  — 

That  the  said  colonies  and  plantations  have  been  liable  to,  and 
bounden1  by,  several  subsidies,  payments,  rates  and  taxes,  given 

1  Bound. 

I5URKE   ON    CONCILIATION  —  7 


98  Speech  on   Conciliation 

and  granted  by  Parliament,  though  the  said  colonies  and  planta 
tions  have  not  their  knights  and  burgesses  in  the  said  high  court 
of  Parliament,  of  their  own  election,  to  represent  the  condition  of 
their  country;  by  lack  whereof  they  have  been  oftentimes  touched 
5  and  grieved  by  subsidies  given,  granted  and  assented  to,  in  the 
said  court,  in  a  manner  prejudicial  to  the  commonwealth,  quiet 
ness,  rest  and  peace  of  the  subjects  inhabiting  within  the  same. 

Is  this  description  too  hot  or  too  cold,  too  strong  or 
too  weak  ?  Does  it  arrogate  too  much  to  the  supreme 
10 legislature?  Does  it  lean  too  much  to  the  claims  of  the 
people?  If  it  runs  into  any  of  these  errors,  the  fault  is 
not  mine.  It  is  the  language  of  your  own  ancient  acts 
of  Parliament :  — 

Non  meus  hie  sermo,  sed  quae  praecepit  Ofellaeus, 
15  Rusticus,  abnormis  sapiens. 

It  is  the  genuine  produce  of  the  ancient,  rustic,  manly, 
home-bred  sense  of  this  country,  —  I  did  not  dare  to 
rub  off  a  particle  of  the  venerable  rust  that  rather  adorns 
and  preserves,  than  destroys,  the  metal.  It  would  be  a 

20  profanation  to  touch  with  a  tool  the  stones  which  con 
struct  the  sacred  altar  of  peace.  I  would  not  violate 
with  modern  polish  the  ingenuous  and  noble  roughness 
of  these  truly  constitutional  materials.  Above  all  things, 
I  was  resolved  not  to  be  guilty  of  tampering,  —  the 

25  odious  vice  of  restless  and  unstable  minds.  I  put  my 
foot  in  the  tracks  of  our  forefathers,  where  I  can  neither 
wander  nor  stumble.  Determining  to  fix  articles  of 
peace,  I  was  resolved  not  to  be  wise  beyond  what  was 
written ;  I  was  resolved  to  use  nothing  else  than  the  form 


Speech  on  Conciliation  99 

of  sound  words,  to  let  others  abound  in  their  own  sense, 
and  carefully  to  abstain  from  all  expressions  of  my  own. 
What  the  law  has  said,  I  say.  In  all  things  else  I  am 
silent.  I  have  no  organ  but  for  her  words.  This,  if  it 
be  not  ingenious,  I  am  sure  is  safe.  5 

There  are  indeed  words  expressive  of  grievance  in  this 
second  resolution,  which  those  who  are  resolved  always 
to  be  in  the  right  will  deny  to  contain  matter  of  fact,  as 
applied  to  the  present  case,  although  Parliament  thought 
them  true  with  regard  to  the  counties  of  Chester  and  10 
Durham.  They  will  deny  that  the  Americans  were  ever 
"  touched  and  grieved  "  with  the  taxes.  If  they  con 
sider  nothing  in  taxes  but  their  weight  as  pecuniary 
impositions,  there  might  be  some  pretence  for  this 
denial.  But  men  may  be  sorely  touched  and  deeply  15 
grieved  in  their  privileges  as  well  as  in  their  purses. 
Men  may  lose  little  in  property  by  the  act  which  takes 
away  all  their  freedom.  When  a  man  is  robbed  of  a  trifle 
on  the  highway,  it  is  not  the  twopence  lost  that  consti 
tutes  the  capital  outrage.  This  is  not  confined  to  privi-  20 
leges.  Even  ancient  indulgences  withdrawn,  without 
offence  on  the  part  of  those  who  enjoyed  such  favours, 
operate  as  grievances.  But  were  the  Americans  then  not 
touched  and  grieved  by  the  taxes,  in  some  measure, 
merely  as  taxes?  If  so,  why  were  they  almost  all  either 25 
wholly  repealed  or  exceedingly  reduced?  Were  they 
not  touched  and  grieved  even  by  the  regulating  duties  of 
the  sixth  of  George  the  Second  ?  Else  why  were  the 
duties  first  reduced  to  one-third  in  1764,  and  afterward? 


TOO  Speech  on  Conciliation 

to  a  third  of  that  third  in  the  year  1766?  Were  they 
not  touched  and  grieved  by  the  Stamp  Act  ?  I  shall  say 
they  were,  until  that  tax  is  revived.  Were  they  not 
touched  and  grieved  by  the  duties  of  1767,  which  were 
5  likewise  repealed,  and  which  Lord  Hillsborough  tells  you 
(for  the  ministry)  were  laid  contrary  to  the  true  principle 
of  commerce  ?  Is  not  the  assurance  given  by  that  noble 
person  to  the  colonies  of  a  resolution  to  lay  no  more 
taxes  on  them,  an  admission  that  taxes  would  touch  and 

10  grieve  them  ?  Is  not  the  resolution  of  the  noble  lord  in 
the  blue  ribbon,  now  standing  on  your  journals,  the 
strongest  of  all  proofs  that  parliamentary  subsidies  really 
touched  and  grieved  them?  Else  why  all  these  changes, 
modifications,  repeals,  assurances  and  resolutions  ? 

15     The  next  proposition  is,  — 

That,  from  the  distance  of  the  said  colonies  and  from  other  cir 
cumstances,  no  method  hath  hitherto  been  devised  for  procuring  a 
representation  in  Parliament  for  the  said  colonies. 

This  is  an  assertion  of  a  fact.     I  go  no  further  on  the 
20  paper,  though  in  my  private  judgement  a  useful  repre 
sentation  is  impossible.     I  am  sure  it  is  not  desired  by 
them  ;  nor  ought  it,  perhaps,  by  us :  but  I  abstain  from 
opinions. 
The  fourth  resolution  is,  — 

25  That  each  of  the  said  colonies  hath  within  itself  a  body,  chosen 
in  part  or  in  the  whole  by  the  freemen,  freeholders  or  other  free  in- 
habitants  thereof,  commonly  called  the  general  assembly,  or  gen- 


Speech  on  Conciliation  101 

eral  court,  with  powers  legally  to  raise,  levy  and  assess,  according 
to  the  several  usages  of  such  colonies,  duties  and  taxes  towards 
defraying  l  all  sorts  of  public  services. 

This  competence  in  the  colony  assemblies  is  certain. 
It  is  proved  by  the  whole  tenor  of  their  acts  of  supply  in  5 
all  the  assemblies,  in  which  the  constant  style 2  of  grant 
ing  is,  "An 'aid  to  his  Majesty";   and  acts  granting  to 
the  crown  have  regularly  for  near  a  century  passed  the 
public  offices  without   dispute.     Those  who  have  been 
pleased  paradoxically  to    deny  this    right,  holding   that  10 
none  but  the  British  Parliament  can  grant  to  the  crown, 
are  wished3   to    look  to  what  is  done,  not  only  in   the 
colonies,  but  in  Irelano!,  in  one  uniform,  unbroken  tenor 
every  session.      Sir,\I  am   surprised   that  this  doctrine 
should  come  from  some  of  the  law  servants  of  the  crown.  15 
I  say  that  if  the  crown  could  be  responsible,  his  Majesty 
—  but  certainly  the  ministers,  and  even  these  law  officers 
themselves  through  whose  hands  the  acts  pass,  biennially 
in  Ireland  or  annually  in  the  colonies,  are  in  an  habitual 
course  of  committing  impeachable  offences^    What  habit-  20 
ual  offenders  have  been  all  presidents  of  the  council,  all 
secretaries  of  state,  all  first  lords  of  trade,  all  attorneys 
and  all  solicitors-general  !      However,  they  are  safe,  as 
no  one  impeaches   them ;    and  there   is  no   ground    of 
charge  against   them,  except   in   their   own   unfounded  25 
theories. 

1  Supply  "  the  cost  of." 
2  Language.  8  Desired. 


Speech  on  Conciliation 


The  fifth  resolution  is  also  a  resolution  of  fact,  — 

That  the  said  general  assemblies,  general  courts,  or  other  bodies 
legally  qualified  as  aforesaid,  have  at  sundry  times  freely  granted 
several  large  subsidies  and  public  aids  for  his  Majesty's  service,  ac- 
5  cording  to  their  abilities,  when  required  thereto  by  letter  from  one 
of  his  Majesty's  principal  secretaries  of  state;  and  that  their  right 
to  grant  the  same  and  their  cheerfulness  and  sufficiency  in  the  said 
grants  have  been  at  sundry  times  acknowledged  by  Parliament. 

To  say  nothing  of  their  great  expenses   in   the    Indian 

10  wars,  and  not  to  take  their  exertion  in  foreign  ones  so 

high1  as  the  supplies  in  the  year  1695,  not  to  go  back  to 

their  public  contributions  in  the  year  1710,  1  shall  begin  to 

travel  only  where  the  journals  give  me  light,  —  resolving 

to  deal  in  nothing  but  fact  authenticated  by  parliamentary 

15  record,  and  to  build  myself  wholly  on  that  solid  basis. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1748,  2  a  committee  of  this  House 
came  to  the  following  resolution  :  — 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee  that  it  is  just 
and  reasonable  that  the  several  provinces  and  colonies  of  Massa- 
20  chusetts  Bay,  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  be 
reimbursed  the  expenses  they  have  been  at  in  taking  and  securing 
to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain  the  island  of  Cape  Breton  and  its 
dependencies. 

These    expenses   were    immense    for    such    colonies. 
25  They  were  above  ^200,000  sterling  :  money  first  raised 
and  advanced  on  their  public  credit. 

On  the  28th  of  January,  1756,  3  a  message  from  the 
king  came  to  us  to  this  effect  :  — 

1  So  far  back.  2  Journals  of  the  House,  Vol.  XXV. 

3  Journals  of  the  House,  Vol.  XXVII. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  103 

His  Majesty,  being  sensible  of  the  zeal  and  vigour  with  which  his 
faithful  subjects  of  certain  colonies  in  North  America  have  exerted 
themselves  in  defence  of  his  Majesty's  just  rights  and  possessions, 
recommends  it  to  this  House  to  take  the  same  into  their  considera 
tion,  and  to  enable  his  Majesty  to  give  them  such  assistance  as  may  5 
be  a  proper  reward  and  encouragement. 

On  the  3d  of  February,  I756,1  the  House  came  to  a 
suitable  resolution,  expressed  in  words  nearly  the  same  as 
those  of  the  message,  but  with  the  further  addition  that 
the  money  then  voted  was  as  an  encouragement  to  the  10 
colonies  to  exert  themselves  with  vigour.  It  will  not  be 
necessary  to  go  through  all  the  testimonies  which  your 
own  records  have,  given  to  the  truth  of  my  resolutions. 
I  will  only  refer  you  to  the  places  in  the  journals :  — 

Vol.  XXVII.—  1 6th  and  iQth  May,  1757.  15 

Vol.    XXVIII. —June   ist,  1758;   April  26th    and    soth,  1759; 
March  26th  and  3 ist,  and  April  28th,  1760;  Jan.Qthand  2oth,  1761. 

Vol.  XXIX.  —  Jan.  22d  and  26th,  1762;   March  I4th  and  I7th, 
1763- 

Sir,  here  is  the  repeated  acknowledgment  of  Parliament  2& 
that  the   colonies   not   only   gave,  but   gave    to    satiety. 
This  nation  has  formally  acknowledged  two  things :  first, 
that  the  colonies  had  gone  beyond  their  abilities,  Parlia 
ment  having  thought  it  necessary  to    reimburse    them ; 
secondly,  that  they  had  acted  legally  and  laudably  in  their  25 
grants  of  money  and  their  maintenance  of  troops,  since 
the  compensation  is  expressly  given  as  reward  and  en 
couragement.     Reward  is  not  bestowed  for  acts  that  are 

1  Journals  of  the  House,  Vol.  XXVII. 


104  Speech  on  Conciliation 

unlawful ;  and  encouragement  is  not  held  out  to  things 
that  deserve  reprehension.  My  resolution  therefore  does 
nothing  more  than  collect  into  one  proposition  what  is 
scattered  through  your  journals.  I  give  you  nothing  but 
5  your  own ;  and  you  cannot  refuse  in  the  gross  what 
you  have  so  often  acknowledged  in  detail.  The  ad 
mission  of  this,  which  will  be  so  honourable  to  them  and 
to  you,  will  indeed  be  mortal 1  to  all  the  miserable  stories 
by  which  the  passions  of  the  misguided  people  have  been 

reengaged  in  an  unhappy  system.  The  people  heard, 
indeed,  from  the  beginning  of  these  disputes,  one  thing 
continually  dinned  in  their  ears,  —  that  reason  and  justice 
demanded  that  the  Americans,  who  paid  no  taxes,  should 
be  compelled  to  contribute.  How  did  that  fact  of  their  pay- 

15  ing  nothing  stand  when  the  taxing  system  began?  When 
Mr.  Grenville  began  to  form  his  system  of  American 
revenue,  he  stated  in  this  House  that  the  colonies  were 
then  in  debt  two  million  six  hundred  thousand  pounds 
sterling  money,  and  was  of  opinion  they  would  discharge 

20  that  debt  in  four  years.  On  this  state,  those  untaxed 
people  were  actually  subject  to  the  payment  of  taxes  to 
the  amount  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  a  year.  In 
fact,  however,  Mr.  Grenville  was  mistaken.  The  funds 
given  for  sinking  the  debt  did  not  prove  quite  so  ample 

25  as  both  the  colonies  and  he  expected.  The  calculation 
was  too  sanguine ;  the  reduction  was  not  completed  till 
some  years  after,  and  at  different  times  in  different  colo 
nies.  However,  the  taxes  after  the  war  continued  too 
1  Fatal. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  105 

great  to  bear  any  addition  with  prudence  or  propriety ; 
and  when  the  burdens  imposed  in  consequence  of  former 
requisitions  were  discharged,  our  tone  became  too  high 
to  resort  again  to  requisition.  No  colony  since  that  time 
ever  has  had  any  requisition  whatsoever  made  to l  it.  5 

We  see  the  sense 2  of  the  crown  and  the  sense  of  Par 
liament  on  the  productive  nature  of  a  revenue  by  grant. 
Now  search  the  same  journals  for  the  produce  of  the 
revenue  by  imposition.  Where  is  it?  Let  us  know  the 
volume  and  the  page.  What  is  the  gross,  what  is  the  net  10 
produce?  To  what  service  is  it  applied?  How  have 
you  appropriated  its  surplus?  What,  can  none  of  the 
many  skilful  index-makers  that  we  are  now  employing 
find  any  trace  of  it  ?  Well,  let  them  and  that  rest  to 
gether.  But  are  the  journals,  which  say  nothing  of  the  15 
revenue,  as  silent  on  the  discontent?  Oh,  no!  a  child 
may  find  it.  It  is  the  melancholy  burden  and  blot  of 
every  page. 

I  think,  then,  I  am,  from  those  journals,  justified  in  the 
sixth  and  last  resolution,  which  is,  —  20 

That  it  hath  been  found  by  experience  that  the  manner  of  grant 
ing  the  said  supplies  and  aids  by  the  said  general  assemblies  hath 
been  more  agreeable  to  the  said  colonies,  and  more  beneficial  and 
conducive  to  the  public  service,  than  the  mode  of  giving  and  grant 
ing  aids  in  Parliament,  to  be  raised  and  paid  in  the  said  colonies.  25 

This  makes  the  whole  of  the  fundamental  part  of  the 
plan.  The  conclusion  is  irresistible.  You  cannot  say 

1  Upon.  2  Opinion. 


io6  Speech  on   Conciliation 

that  you  were  driven  by  any  necessity  to  an  exercise  of 
the  utmost  rights  of  legislature.  You  cannot  assert  that 
you  took  on  yourselves  the  task  of  imposing  colony  taxes, 
from  the  want  of  another  legal  body  that  is  competent  to 
5  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  exigencies  of  the  state 
without  wounding  the  prejudices  of  the  people.  Neither 
is  it  true  that  the  body  so  qualified  and  having  that 
competence  had  neglected  the  duty. 

The  question  now,  on  all  this  accumulated  matter,  is, 

10  —  whether  you  will  choose  to  abide  by  a  profitable  expe 
rience  or  a  mischievous  theory ;  whether  you  choose  to 
build  on  imagination  or  fact ;  whether  you  prefer  enjoy 
ment  or  hope  ;  satisfaction  in  your  subjects  or  discontent  ? 
If  these  propositions  are  accepted,  everything  which  has 

15  been  made  to  enforce  a  contrary  system  must,  I  take  it 
for  granted,  fall  along  with  it.  On  that  ground  I  have 
drawn  the  following  resolution,  which,  when  it  comes  to 
be  moved,  will  naturally  be  divided  in  a  proper  man 
ner: — 

20  That  it  may  be  proper  to  repeal  an  act  made  in  the  seventh  year 
of  the  reign  of  his  present  Majesty,  entitled,  "  An  act  for  granting 
certain  duties  in  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  in  America; 
for  allowing  a  drawback  of  the  duties  of  customs  upon  the  exporta 
tion  from  this  kingdom,  of  coffee  and  cocoanuts  of  the  produce  of 

25  the  said  colonies  or  plantations;  for  discontinuing  the  drawbacks 
payable  on  China  earthenware  exported  to  America;  and  for  more 
effectually  preventing  the  clandestine  running1  of  goods  in  the 
said  colonies  and  plantations." — And  that  it  maybe  proper  to 
repeal  an  act  made  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  his  pres- 

1  Smuggling. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  107 

ent  Majesty,  entitled,  "An  act  to  discontinue,  in  such  manner  and 
for  such  time  as  are  therein  mentioned,  the  landing  and  discharging, 
lading  or  shipping,  of  goods,  wares  and  merchandise,  at  the  town 
and  within  the  harbour  of  Boston,  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  in  North  America."  —  And  that  it  may  be  proper  to  repeal  an  5 
act  made  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  his  present  Majesty, 
entitled,  "  An  act  for  the  impartial  administration  of  justice  in  the 
cases  of  persons  questioned  for  any  acts  done  by  them  in  the  exe 
cution  of  the  law,  or  for  the  suppression  of  riots  and  tumults,  in  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England." — And  that  it  10 
may  be  proper  to  repeal  an  act  made  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  the 
reign  of  his  present  Majesty,  entitled,  "  An  act  for  the  better  regu 
lating  the  government  of  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay, 
in  New  England."  —  And  also,  that  it  may  be  proper  to  explain  and 
amend  an  act  made  in  the  thirty-fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  15 
Henry  the  Eighth,  entitled,  "  An  act  for  the  trial  of  treasons  com 
mitted  out  of  the  king's  dominions, 

I   wish,  Sir,  to   repeal   the  Boston  Port  Bill,  because 
(independently  of  the  dangerous  precedent  of  suspending 
the  rights  of  the  subject  during  the  king's  pleasure)  it  20 
was  passed,  as  I  apprehend,  with  less  regularity  and  on 
more  partial  principles  than  it  ought.     The  corporation 
of  Boston   was    not   heard    before  it   was    condemned. 
Other  towns,  full  as  guilty  as  she  was,  have  not  had  their 
ports   blocked   up.     Even   the    Restraining   Bill   of  the  95 
present  session  does  not  go  to  the  length  of  the  Boston 
Port  Act.  "^The  same  ideas  of  prudence  which  induced 
you  not  to  extend  equal  punishment  to  equal  guilt,  even 
when  you  were  punishing,  induced  me,  who  mean  not  to 
chastise  but  to  reconcile,  to  be  satisfied  with  the  punish-  30 
ment  already  partially  inflicted.-^ 


io8  Speech  on  Conciliation 

Ideas  of  prudence  and  accommodation  to  circumstances 
prevent  you  from  taking  away  the  charters  of  Connecticut 
and  Rhode  Island,  as  you  have  taken  away  that  of 
Massachusetts  Colony,  though  the  crown  has  far  less 
5  power  in  the  two  former  provinces  than  it  enjoyed  in  the 
latter,  and  though  the  abuses  have  been  full  as  great  and 
as  flagrant  in  the  exempted  as  in  the  punished.  The 
same  reasons  of  prudence  and  accommodation  have  weight 
with  me  in  restoring  the  charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

10  Besides,  Sir,  the  act  which  changes  the  charter  of  Massa 
chusetts  is  in  many  particulars  so  exceptionable  that,  if  I 
did  not  wish  absolutely  to  repeal,  I  would  by  all  means 
desire  to  alter  it,  as  several  of  its  provisions  tend  to  the 
subversion  of  all  public  and  private  justice.  Such,  among 

15  others,  is  the  power  in  the  governor  to  change  the  sheriff 
at  his  pleasure,  and  to  make  a  new  returning  officer  for 
every  special  cause.  It  is  shameful  to  behold  such  a 
regulation  standing  among  English  laws. 

The  act  for  bringing  persons  accused  of  committing 

20  murder  under  the  orders  of  government  to  England  for 
trial  is  but  temporary.  That  act  has  calculated  the 
probable  duration  of  our  quarrel  with  the  colonies,  and 
is  accommodated  to  that  supposed  duration.  I  would 
hasten  the  happy  moment  of  reconciliation  ;  and  there- 

25  fore  must,  on  my  principle,  get  rid  of  that  most  justly 
obnoxious  act. 

The  act  of  Henry  the  Eighth  for  the  trial  of  treasons  I 
do  not  mean  to  take  away,  but  to  confine  it  to  its  proper 
bounds  and  original  intention ;  to  make  it  expressly  for 


Speech  on  Conciliation  109 

trial  of  treasons  (and  the  greatest  treasons  may  be 
committed)  in  places  where  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
crown  does  not  extend. 

Having  guarded  the  privileges  of  local  legislature,  I 
would  next  secure  to  the  colonies  a  fair  and  unbiased  5 
judicature;    for    which    purpose,    Sir,     I    propose    the 
following  resolution :  — 

That  from  the  time  when  the  general  assembly,  or  general 
court,  of  any  colony  or  plantation  in  North  America  shall  have 
appointed,  by  act  of  assembly  duly  confirmed,  a  settled  salary  to  10 
the  offices  of  the  chief  justice  and  other  judges  of  the  superior 
court,  it  may  be  proper  that  the  said  chief  justice  and  other  judges 
of  the  superior  courts  of  such  colony  shall  hold  his  and  their  office 
and  offices  during  their  good  behaviour,  and  shall  not  be  removed 
therefrom  but  when  the  said  removal  shall  be  adjudged  by  his  15 
Majesty  in  council,  upon  a  hearing  on  complaint  from  the  general 
assembly,  or  on  a  complaint  from  the  governor  or  council  or  the 
house  of  representatives,  severaHy,  of  the  colony  in  which  the  said 
chief  justice  and  other  judges  have  exercised  the  said  offices. 

The  next  resolution  relates  to  the  courts  of  admiralty.  20 
It  is  this  :  — 

That  it  may  be  proper  to  regulate  the  courts  of  admiralty  or 
vice-admiralty  authorized  by  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the  fourth  of 
George  the  Third,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  the  same  more 
commodious  to  those  who  sue  or  who  are  sued  in  the  said  courts  ;  25 
and  to  provide  for  the  more  decent  maintenance  of  the  judges  in 
the  same. 

These  courts  I  do  not  wish  to  take  away  :  they  are  in 
themselves  proper  establishments.     This  court  is  one  of 


iio  Speech  on  Conciliation 

the  capital  securities  of  the  Act  of  Navigation.  The 
extent  of  its  jurisdiction,  indeed,  has  been  increased ; 
but  this  is  altogether  as  proper,  and  is  indeed  on  many 
accounts  more  eligible,1  where  new  powers  were  wanted, 
5  than  a  court  absolutely  new.  But  courts  incommodiously 
situated  in  effect  deny  justice  ;  and  a  court  partaking  in 
the  fruits  of  its  own  condemnation  is  a  robber.  The 
Congress  complain,  and  complain  justly,  of  this  griev 
ance. 

10  These  are  the  three  consequential  propositions.  I 
have  thought  of  two  or  three  more ;  but  they  come 
rather  too  near  detail  and  to  the  province  of  executive 
government,  which  I  wish  Parliament  always  to  superin 
tend,  never  to  assume.  If  the  first  six  are  granted,  con- 

15  gruity  will  carry  the  latter  three.  If  not,  the  things  that 
remain  unrepealed  will  be,  I  hope,  rather  unseemly 
incumbrances  on  the  building  than  very  materially  detri 
mental  to  its  strength  and  stability. 

Here,  Sir,  I  should  close ;  but  I  plainly  perceive  some 

20  objections  remain  which  I  ought,  if  possible,  to  remove. 
The  first  will  be  that,  in  resorting  to  the  doctrine  of  our 
ancestors  as  contained  in  the  preamble  to  the  Chester 
Act,  I  prove  too  much ;  that  the  grievance  from  a  want 
of  representation,  stated  in  that  preamble,  goes  to  the 

25  whole  of  legislation  as  well  as  to  taxation  ;  and  that  the 
colonies,  grounding  themselves  upon  that  doctrine,  will 
apply  it  to  all  parts  of  legislative  authority. 

To    this   objection,    with    all    possible    deference   and 
1  Suitable. 


Speech   on   Conciliation  1 1 1 

numility,  and  wishing  as  little  as  any  man  living  to  im 
pair  the  smallest  particle  of  our  supreme  authority,  I 
answer  that  the  words  are  the  words  of  Parliament,  and 
not  mine ;  and  that  all  false  and  inconclusive  inferences 
drawn  from  them  are  not  mine,  for  I  heartily  disclaim  5 
any  such  inference.  I  have  chosen  the  words  of  an  act 
of  Parliament  which  Mr.  Grenville,  surely  a  tolerably 
zealous  and  very  judicious  advocate  for  the  sovereignty  of 
Parliament,  formerly  moved  to  have  read  at  your  table  in 
confirmation  of  his  tenets.  It  is  true  that  Lord  Chatham  w 
considered  these  preambles  as  declaring  strongly  in  favour 
of  his  opinions.  He  was  a  no  less  powerful  advocate  for 
the  privileges  of  the  Americans.  Ought  I  not  from 
hence  to  presume  that  these  preambles  are  as  favourable 
as  possible  to  both,  when  properly  understood,  —  favour- 15 
able  both  to  the  rights  of  Parliament  and  to  the  privilege  of 
the  dependencies  of  this  crown?  But,  Sir,  the  object  of 
grievance  in  my  resolution  I  have  not  taken  from  the 
Chester,  but  from  the  Durham  Act,  which  confines  the 
hardship  of  want  of  representation  to  the  case  of  sub-  20 
sidies,  and  which  therefore  falls  in *  exactly  with  the  case 
of  the  colonies.  But  whether  the  unrepresented  counties 
were  dejure  or  de  facto  bound,  the  preambles  do  not  ac 
curately  distinguish ;  nor  indeed  was  it  necessary ;  for 
whether  de  jure  or  de  facto,  the  legislature  thought  the  25 
exercise  of  the  power  of  taxing,  as  of  right  or  as  of  fact 
without  right,  equally  a  grievance  and  equally  oppressive. 
I  do  not  know  that  the  colonies  have,  in  any  general 
1  Agrees. 


H2  Speech  on   Conciliation 

way  or  in  any  cool  hour,  gone  much  beyond  the  demand 
of  immunity  in  relation  to  taxes.  It  is  not  fair  to  judge 
of  the  temper  or  disposition  of  any  man  or  any  set  of 
men,  when  they  are  composed  and  at  rest,  from  their 

»^S  conduct  or  their  expressions  in  a  state  of  disturbance  and 
irritation.  It  is,  besides,  a  very  great  mistake  to  imagine 
that  mankind  follow  up  practically  any  speculative  prin 
ciple,  either  of  government  or  of  freedom,  as  far  as  it 
will  go  in  argument  and  logical  illation.  We  Englishmen 

10  stop  very  short  of  the  principles  upon  which  we  support 
any  given  part  of  our  Constitution,  or  even  the  whole  of 
it  together.  I  could  easily,  if  I  had  not  already  tired 
you,  give  you  very  striking  and  convincing  instances  of 
it.  This  is  nothing  but  what  is  natural  and  proper.  All 

15  government,  indeed  every  human  benefit  and  enjoyment, 
every  virtue,  and  every  prudent  act,  is  founded  on  com 
promise  and  barter.  We  balance  inconveniences;  we 
give  and  take ;  we  remit  some  rights  that  we  may  enjoy 
others ;  and  we  choose  rather  to  be  happy  citizens  than 

20  subtle  disputants.  As  we  must  give  away  some  natural 
liberty  to  enjoy  civil  advantages,  so  we  must  sacrifice 
some  civil  liberties  for  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
the  communion  and  fellowship  of  a  great  empire.  But  in 
all  fair  dealings  the  thing  bought  must  bear  some  pro- 

25  portion  to  the  purchase  paid.  None  will  barter  away  the 
immediate  jewel  of  his  soul.  Though  a  great  house  is 
apt  to  make  slaves  haughty,  yet  it  is  purchasing  a  part  of 
the  artificial  importance  of  a  great  empire  too  dear  to 
pay  for  it  all  essential  rights  and  all  the  intrinsic  dignity 


Speech  on   Conciliation  113 

of  human  nature.  None  of  us  who  would  not  risk  his 
life  rather  than  fall  under  a  government  purely  arbitrary. 
But  although  there  are  some  amongst  us  who  think  our 
Constitution  wants  many  improvements  to  make  it  a  com 
plete  system  of  liberty,  perhaps  none  who  are  of  that  5 
opinion  would  think  it  right  to  aim  at  such  improvement 
by  disturbing  his  country  and  risking  everything  that  is 
dear  to  him.  In  every  arduous  enterprise  we  consider 
what  we  are  to  lose  as  well  as  what  we  are  to  gain ;  and 
the  more  and  better  stake  of  liberty  every  people  possess,  10 
the  less  they  will  hazard  in  a  vain  attempt  to  make  it 
more.  These  are  the  cords  of  man.  Man  acts  from 
adequate  motives  relative  to  his  interest,  and  not  on 
metaphysical  speculations.  Aristotle,  the  great  master  of 
reasoning,  cautions  us,  and  with  great  weight  and  pro- 15 
priety,  against  this  species  of  delusive  geometrical  ac 
curacy  in  moral  arguments,  as  the  most  fallacious  of  all 
sophistry. 

-"The  Americans  will  have  no  interest  contrary  to  the 
grandeur  and  glory  of  England,  when  they  are  not  20 
oppressed  by  the  weight  of  it ;  and  they  will  rather  be 
inclined  to  respect  the  acts  of  a  superintending  legisla 
ture,  when  they  see  them  the  acts  of  that  power  which 
is  itself  the  security,  not  the  rival,  of  their  secondary 
importance.  In  this  assurance  my  mind  most  perfectly  25 
acquiesces;  and  I  confess  I  feel  not  the  least  alarm  from 
the  discontents  which  are  to  arise  from  putting  people 
at  their  ease ;  nor  do  I  apprehend  the  destruction  of  this 
empire  from  giving,  by  an  act  of  free  grace  and  indul- 

BURKE   ON    CONCILIATION  —  8 


H4  Speech  on   Conciliation 

gence,  to  two  millions  of  my  fellow-citizens,  some  share 
of  those  rights  upon  which  I  have  always  been  taught  to 
value  myself. 

It  is  said,  indeed,  that  this  power  of  granting,  vested 

5  in  American  assemblies,  would  dissolve  the  unity  of  the 
empire,  which  was  preserved  entire,  although  Wales  and 
Chester  and  Durham  were  added  to  it.  Truly,  Mr. 
Speaker,  I  do  not  know  what  this  unity  means  ;  nor  has 
it  ever  been  heard  of,  that  I  know,  in  the  constitutional 

10  policy  of  this  country.  The  very  idea  of  subordination 
of  parts  excludes  this  notion  of  simple  and  undivided 
unity.  England  is  the  head,  but  she  is  not  the  head  and 
the  members  too.  Ireland  has  ever  had  from  the  begin 
ning  a  separate,  but  not  an  independent,  legislature,  which, 

15  far  from  distracting,  promoted  the  union  of  the  whole. 
Everything  was  sweetly  and  harmoniously  disposed 
through  both  islands  for  the  conservation  of  English 
dominion  and  the  communication  of  English  liberties.  I 
do  not  see  that  the  same  principles  might  not  be  carried 

20  into  twenty  islands,  and  with  the  same  good  effect.  This 
is  my  model  with  regard  to  America,  as  far  as  the  inter 
nal  circumstances  of  the  two  countries  are  the  same.  I 
know  no  other  unity  of  this  empire  than  I  can  draw  from 
its  example  during  these  periods  when  it  seemed  to  my 

25  poor  understanding  more  united  than  it  is  now,  or  than 
it  is  likely  to  be  by  the  present  methods. 

But  since  I  speak  of  these  methods,  I  recollect,  Mr. 
Speaker,  almost  too  late,  that  I  promised,  before  I 
finished,  to  say  something  of  the  proposition  of  the 


Speech  on  Conciliation  115 

noble  lord l  on  the  floor,  which  has  been  so  lately 
received,  and  stands  on  your  journals.  I  must  be  deeply 
concerned  whenever  it  is  my  misfortune  to  continue 
a  difference  with  the  majority  of  this  House.  But  as  the 
reasons  for  that  difference  are  my  apology  for  thus  5 
troubling  you,  suffer  me  to  state  them  in  a  very  few 
words.  I  shall  compress  them  into  as  small  a  body  as  I 
possibly  can,  having  already  debated  that  matter  at 
large  when  the  question  was  before  the  committee. 

First,  then,  I  cannot  admit  that  proposition  of  a  ransom  10 
by  auction,  because  it  is  a  mere  project.2     It  is  a  thing 
new,  unheard  of,  supported  by  no  experience,  justified 
by  no  analogy,  without  example  of  our  ancestors  or  root 
in  the  Constitution.     It  is  neither  regular  parliamentary 
taxation  nor  colony  grant.     Experimentum  in  corpore  vili  15 
is  a  good  rule  which  will  ever  make  me  adverse  to  any 
trial  of  experiments  on  what  is  certainly  the  most  valuable 
of  all  subjects,  — the  peace  of  this  empire. 

Secondly,  it  is  an  experiment  which  must  be  fatal  in 
the  end  to  our  Constitution.     For  what  is  it  but  a  scheme  20 
for    taxing    the    colonies    in    the    antechamber    of    the 
noble  lord  and  his  successors?     To  settle  the  quotas  and 
proportions  in  this  House  is   clearly    impossible.     You, 
Sir,  may  natter  yourself  you  shall  sit  a  state  auctioneer 
with  your  hammer  in  your  hand,  and  knock  down  to  each  25 
colony  as  it  bids.     But  to  settle  (on  the  plan  laid  down 
by  the  noble  lord)  the  true  proportional  payment  for  four 

1  Lord  North.  2  A  bare  proposition  and  nothing  more. 


n6  Speech  on  Conciliation 

or  five  and  twenty  governments,  according  to  the  abso 
lute  and  the  relative  wealth  of  each,  and  according  to  the 
British  proportion  of  wealth  and  burden,  is  a  wild  and 
chimerical  notion.  This  new  taxation  must  therefore 
5  come  in  by  the  back  door  of  the  Constitution.  Each 
quota  must  be  brought  to  this  House  ready  formed.  You 
can  neither  add  nor  alter.  You  must  register  it.  You 
can  do  nothing  further.  For  on  what  grounds  can 
you  deliberate  either  before  or  after  the  proposition? 

10  You  cannot  hear  the  counsel  for  all  these  provinces, 
quarrelling  each  on  its  own  quantity  of  payment  and  its 
proportion  to  others.  If  you .  should  attempt  it,  the 
committee  of  provincial  ways  and  means,  or  by  whatever 
other  name  it  will  delight  to  be  called,  must  swallow  up 

15  all  the  time  of  Parliament. 

Thirdly,  it  does  not  give  satisfaction  to  the  complaint 
of  the  colonies.  They  complain  that  they  are  taxed 
without  their  consent ;  you  answer  that  you  will  fix  the 
sum  at  which  they  shall  be  taxed.  That  is,  you  give 

20  them  the  very  grievance  for  the  remedy.  You  tell  them, 
indeed,  that  you  will  leave  the  mode  to  themselves.  I 
really  beg  pardon ;  it  gives  me  pain  to  mention  it  •  but 
you  must  be  sensible  that  you  will  not  perform  this  part 
of  the  compact.  For  suppose  the  colonies  were  to  lay 

25  the  duties  which  furnished  their  contingent  upon  the  im 
portation  of  your  manufactures,  you  know  you  would 
never  suffer  such  a  tax  to  be  laid.  You  know,  too,  that 
you  would  not  suffer  many  other  modes  of  taxation.  So 
that  when  you  come  to  explain  yourself,  it  will  be  found 


Speech  on  Conciliation  117 

that  you  will  neither  leave  to  themselves  the  quantum  nor 
the  mode ;  nor  indeed  anything.  The  whole  is  delusion 
from  one  end  to  the  other. 

Fourthly,  this  method  of  ransom  by  auction,  unless  it 
be  universally  accepted,  will  plunge  you  into  great  and  5 
inextricable  difficulties.  In  what  year  of  our  Lord  are 
the  proportions  of  payments  to  be  settled?  To  say 
nothing  of  the  impossibility  that  colony  agents  should 
have  general  powers  of  taxing  the  colonies  at  their  dis 
cretion,  consider,  I  implore  you,  that  the  communication  10 
by  special  messages  and  orders  between  these  agents  and 
their  constituents  on  each  variation  of  the  case,  when 
the  parties  come  to  contend  together  and  to  dispute  on 
their  relative  proportions,  will  be  a  matter  of  delay,  per 
plexity  and  confusion  that  never  can  have  an  end.  15 

If  all  the  colonies  do  not  appear  at  the  outcry,1  what  is 
the  condition  of  those  assemblies  who  offer,  by  themselves 
or  their  agents,  to  tax  themselves  up  to  your  ideas  of  their 
proportion?  The  refractory  colonies  who  refuse  all 
composition2  will  remain  taxed  only  to  your  old  imposi-zc 
tions,  which,  however  grievous  in  principle,  are  trifling 
as  to  production.  The  obedient  colonies  in  this  scheme 
are  heavily  taxed ;  the  refractory  remain  unburdened. 
What  will  you  do?  Will  you  lay  new  and  heavier  taxes 
by  Parliament  on  the  disobedient?  Pray  consider  in 25 
what  way  you  can  do  it.  You  are  perfectly  convinced 
that  in  the  way  of  taxing  you  can  do  nothing  but  at  the 

1  Public  sale  at  auction.  2  Settlement  or  adjustment. 


1 1 8  Speech  on  Conciliation 

ports.  Now  suppose  it  is  Virginia  that  refuses  to  appear 
at  your  auction,  while  Maryland  and  North  Carolina  bid 
handsomely  for  their  ransom,  and  are  taxed  to  your 
quota:  how  will  you  put  these  colonies  on  a  par?  Will 

5  you  tax  the  tobacco  of  Virginia?  If  you  do,  you  give  its 
death-wound  to  your  English  revenue  at  home  and  to  one 
of  the  very  greatest  articles  of  your  own  foreign  trade. 
If  you  tax  the  import  of  that  rebellious  colony,  what  do 
you  tax  but  your  own  manufactures  or  the  goods  of  some 

v>  other  obedient  and  already  well-taxed  colony?  Who  has 
said  one  word  on  this  labyrinth  of  detail  which  bewilders  you 
more  and  more  as  you  enter  into  it?  Who  has  presented, 
who  can  present  you  with  a  clue  to  lead  you  out  of  it  ? 
I  think,  Sir,  it  is  impossible  that  you  should  not  recollect 

15  that  the  colony  bounds1  are  so  implicated  in  one  another 
(you  know  it  by  your  other  experiments  in  the  bill  for 
prohibiting  the  New  England  fishery)  that  you  can  lay 
no  possible  restraints  on  almost  any  of  them  which  may 
not  be  presently  eluded,  if  you  do  not  confound  the 

20  innocent  with  the  guilty,  and  burden  those  whom,  upon 
every  principle,  you  ought  to  exonerate.  He  must  be 
grossly  ignorant  of  America  who  thinks  that,  without 
falling  into  this  confusion  of  all  rules  of  equity  and  policy, 
you  can  restrain  any  single  colony,  especially  Virginia 

25  and  Maryland,  the  central  and  most  important  of  them  all. 
Let  it  also  be  considered  that  either  in  the  present  con 
fusion  you  settle  a  permanent  contingent,2  which  will  and 
must  be  trifling,  and  then  you  have  no  effectual  revenue ; 
1  Boundaries.  a  Quota. 


Speech   on   Conciliation  119 

or  you  change  the  quota  at  every  exigency,  and  then  on 
every  new  repartition  you  will  have  a  new  quarrel. 

Reflect  besides,  that  when  you  have  fixed  a  quota  for 
every  colony,  you  have  not    provided    for   prompt    and 
punctual  payment.     Suppose    one,  two,  five,  ten   years'  5 
arrears.     You  cannot  issue  a  treasury  extent 1  against  the 
failing  colony.     You  must  make  new  Boston  Port  Bills, 
new  restraining  laws,  new  acts  for  dragging  men  to  England 
for  trial.     You  must    send    out   new  fleets,  new  armies. 
All  is  to  begin  again.     From  this  day  forward  the  empire  10 
is  never  to  know  an  hour's  tranquillity.     An  intestine  fire 
will  be  kept  alive  in  the  bowels  of  the  colonies,  which  one 
time  or  other  must  consume  this  whole  empire.     I  allow 
indeed  that  the  empire  of  Germany  raises  her  revenue 
and  her   troops    by   quotas    and    contingents ;    but   the  15 
revenue  of  the  empire  and  the  army  of  the  empire  is  the 
worst  revenue  and  the  worst  army  in  the  world. 

Instead  of  standing 2  revenue,  you  will  therefore  have  a 
perpetual  quarrel.     Indeed,  the  noble  lord  who  proposed 
this  project  of  a  ransom  by  auction  seemed  himself  to  be  20 
of  that  opinion.     His  project  was    rather   designed    for 
breaking  the  union  of  the  colonies  than  for  establishing  a 
revenue.     He  confessed  he  apprehended  that  his  pro 
posal  would  not  be  to  their  taste.     I  say  this  scheme  of 
disunion  seems  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  the  project ;  for  I  25 
will  not  suspect  that  the  noble  lord  meant  nothing  but 
merely  to  delude  the  nation  by  an  airy  phantom  which  he 

1  A  writ  for  valuing  land  to  be  taken  in  satisfaction  of  a  debt  due 
to  the  Crown.  2  Permanent. 


I2O  Speech  on  Conciliation 

never  intended  to  realize.  But  whatever  his  views  may  be, 
as  I  propose  the  peace  and  union  of  the  colonies  as 
the  very  foundation  of  my  plan,  it  cannot  accord  with  one 
whose  foundation  is  perpetual  discord. 
5  Compare  the  two.  This  I  offer  to  give  you  is  plain 
and  simple ;  the  other  full  of  perplexed  and  intricate 
mazes.  This  is  mild ;  that  harsh.  This  is  found  by 
experience  effectual  for  its  purposes ;  the  other  is  a  new 
project.  This  is  universal ;  the  other  calculated  for 

10  certain  colonies  only.  This  is  immediate  in  its  concilia 
tory  operation ;  the  other  remote,  contingent,  full  of 
hazard.  Mine  is  what  becomes  the  dignity  of  a  ruling 
people,  —  gratuitous,  unconditional,  and  not  held  out  as 
a  matter  of  bargain  and  sale.  I  have  done  my  duty  in 

15  proposing  it  to  you.  I  have  indeed  tired  you  by  a  long 
discourse ;  but  this  is  the  misfortune  of  those  to  whose 
influence  nothing  will  be  conceded,  and  who  must  win 
every  inch  of  their  ground  by  argument.  You  have 
heard  me  with  goodness.  May  you  decide  with  wisdom  ! 

20  For  my  part,  I  feel  my  mind  greatly  disburdened  by 
what  I  have  done  to-day.  I  have  been  the  less  fearful 
of  trying  your  patience,  because  on  this  subject  I  mean 
to  spare  it  altogether  in  future.  I  have  this  comfort,  that 
in  every  stage  of  the  American  affairs  I  have  steadily 

25  opposed  the  measures  that  have  produced  the  confusion, 
and  may  bring  on   the   destruction,   of  this  empire.     I 
now  go  so  far  as  to  risk  a  proposal  of  my  own.     If  I  can 
not  give  peace  to  my  country,  I  give  it  to  my  conscience. 
"But  what,"  says  the  financier,  "is  peace  to  us  with 


Speech  on  Conciliation  I2i 

3ut  money?  Your  plan  gives  us  no  revenue."  No! 
But  it  does ;  for  it  secures  to  the  subject  the  power  of 
REFUSAL,  the  first  of  all  revenues.  Experience  is  a 
cheat  and  fact  a  liar,  if  this  power  in  the  subject  of  pro 
portioning  his  grant,  or  of  not  granting  at  all,  has  not  5 
been  found  the  richest  mine  of  revenue  ever  discovered 
by  the  skill  or  by  the  fortune  of  man.  It  does  not  in 
deed  vote  you  ,£152,750  us.  2|ths,  nor  any  other 
paltry  limited  sum ;  but  it  gives  the  strong-box  itself,  the 
fund,  the  bank,  from  whence  only  revenues  can  arise  10 
amongst  a  people  sensible  of  freedom.  Posita  luditur 
area.  Cannot  you  in  England,  cannot  you  at  this  time 
of  day,  cannot  you,  an  House  of  Commons,  trust  to  the 
principle  which  has  raised  so  mighty  a  revenue  and  ac 
cumulated  a  debt  of  near  140  millions  in  this  country?  15 
Is  this  principle  to  be  true  in  England  and  false  every 
where  else?  Is  it  not  true  in  Ireland?  Has  it  not 
hitherto  been  true  in  the  colonies?  Why  should  you 
presume  that  in  any  country  a  body  duly  constituted  for 
any  function  will  neglect  to  perform  its  duty  and  abdicate  20 
its  trust?  Such  a  presumption  would  go  against  all 
governments  in  all  modes.  But  in  truth  this  dread  of 
penury  of  supply  from  a  free  assembly  has  no  foundation 
in  nature.  For  first  observe,  that  besides  the  desire 
which  all  men  have  naturally  of  supporting  the  honour  of  25 
their  own  government,  that  sense  of  dignity  and  that 
security  to  property  which  ever  attends  freedom  has  a 
tendency  to  increase  the  stock *  of  the  free  community, 
1  Accumulated  capital. 


122  Speech  on  Conciliation 

Most  may  be  taken  where  most  is  accumulated.  And 
what  is  the  soil  or  climate  where  experience  has  not  uni 
formly  proved  that  the  voluntary  flow  of  heaped-up 
plenty,  bursting  from  the  weight  of  its  own  rich  luxuri- 
5  ance,  has  ever  run  with  a  more  copious  stream  of  revenue 
than  could  be  squeezed  from  the  dry  husks  of  oppressed 
indigence  by  the  straining  of  all  the  politic1  machinery  in 
the  world  ? 

Next,  we  know  that  parties  must  ever  exist  in  a  free 

10  country.  We  know,  too,  that  the  emulations  of  such 
parties,  their  contradictions,  their  reciprocal  necessities, 
their  hopes  and  their  fears,  must  send  them  all  in  their 
turns  to  him  that  holds  the  balance  of  the  state.  The 
parties  are  the  gamesters  ;  but  government  keeps  the 

15  table,  and  is  sure  to  be  the  winner  in  the  end.  When 
this  game  is  played,  I  really  think  it  is  more  to  be  feared 
that  the  people  will  be  exhausted  than  that  government 
will  not  be  supplied.  Whereas,  whatever  is  got  by  acts 
of  absolute  power,  ill  obeyed  because  odious,  or  by  con- 

20  tracts  ill  kept  because  constrained,  will  be  narrow,  feeble, 
uncertain  and  precarious. 

Ease  would  retract 
Vows  made  in  pain,  as  violent  and  void. 

I,  for  one,  protest  against  compounding  our  demands. 

25 1  declare  against  compounding  for  a  poor  limited  sum 

the  immense,  ever-growing,  eternal  debt  which  is  due  to 

generous  government  from  protected  freedom.     And  so 

1  Political. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  123 

may  I  speed  in  the  great  object  I  propose  to  you,  as  I 
think  it  would  not  only  be  an  act  of  injustice,  but  would 
be  the  worst  economy  in  the  world,  to  compel  the  colo 
nies  to  a  sum  certain,  either  in  the  way  of  ransom  or  in 
the  way  of  compulsory  compact.  5 

But  to  clear  up  my  ideas  on  this  subject :  a  revenue 
from  America  transmitted  hither,  —  do  not  delude  your 
selves  ;  you  never  can  receive  it,  —  no,  not  a  shilling. 
We  have  experience  that  from  remote  countries  it  is  not 
to  be  expected.  If,  when  you  attempted  to  extract  reve- 10 
nue  from  Bengal,  you  were  obliged  to  return  in  loan  what 
you  had  taken  in  imposition,  what  can  you  expect  from 
North  America?  For  certainly,  if  ever  there  was  a 
country  qualified  to  produce  wealth,  it  is  India ;  or  an 
institution  for  the  transmission,  it  is  the  East  India  Com- 15 
pany.  America  has  none  of  these  aptitudes.  If  America 
gives  you  taxable  objects  on  which  you  lay  your  duties 
here,  and  gives  you  at  the  same  time  a  surplus  by  a  for 
eign  sale  of  her  commodities  to  pay  the  duties  on  these 
objects  which  you  tax  at  home,  she  has  performed  her  20 
part  to  the  British  revenue.  But  with  regard  to  her  own 
internal  establishments,  she  may,  —  I  doubt  not  she  will. 
—  contribute  in  moderation.  I  say  in  moderation  ;  for 
she  ought  not  to  be  permitted  to  exhaust  herself.  She 
ought  to  be  reserved  to  a  war,  the  weight  of  which,  with  25 
the  enemies  that  we  are  most  likely  to  have,  must  be  con 
siderable  in  her  quarter  of  the  globe.  There  she  may 
serve  you,  and  serve  you  essentially.1 

1  Indispensably.  . 


124  Speech  on  Conciliation 

For  that  service,  for  all  service,  whether  of  revenue, 
trade  or  empire,  my  trust  is  in  her  interest  in  the  British 
Constitution.  My  hold  of  the  colonies  is  in  the  close 
affection  which  grows  from  common  names,  from  kindred 
5  blood,  from  similar  privileges  and  equal  protection. 
These  are  ties  which,  though  light  as  air,  are  as  strong 
as  links  of  iron.  Let  the  colonies  always  keep  the  idea 
of  their  civil  rights  associated  with  your  government,  — 
they  will  cling  and  grapple  to  you,  and  no  force  under 

10  heaven  will  be  of  power  to  tear  them  from  their  allegiance. 
But  let  it  be  once  understood  that  your  government  may 
be  one  thing  and  their  privileges  another ;  that  these  two 
things  may  exist  without  any  mutual  relation,  the  cement 
is  gone,  the  cohesion  is  loosened  and  everything  hastens 

15  to  decay  and  dissolution.  As  long  as  you  have  the  wis 
dom  to  keep  the  sovereign  authority  of  this  country  as 
the  sanctuary  of  liberty,  the  sacred  temple  consecrated  to 
our  common  faith,  wherever  the  chosen  race  and  sons  of 
England  worship  freedom,  they  will  turn  their  faces  to- 

20  wards  you.  The  more  they  multiply,  the  more  friends 
you  will  have  ;  the  more  ardently  they  love  liberty,  the 
more  perfect  will  be  their  obedience.  Slavery  they  can 
have  anywhere.  It  is  a  weed  that  grows  in  every  soil. 
They  may  have  it  from  Spain ;  they  may  have  it  from 

25  Prussia.     But  until  you  become  lost  to  all  feeling  of  your 

true  interest  and  your  natural  dignity,  freedom  they  can 

have  from  none    but   you.     This   is  the    commodity  of 

price  l  of  which  you  have  the  monopoly.      This  is  the 

1  The  priceless  commodity. 


Speech  on  Conciliation  125 

true  Act  of  Navigation  which  binds  to  you  the  commerce 
of  the  colonies,  and  through  them  secures  to  you  the 
wealth  of  the  world.  Deny  them  this  participation  of 
freedom,  and  you  break  that  sole  bond  which  originally 
made  and  must  still  preserve  the  unity  of  the  empire.  5 
Do  not  entertain  so  weak  an  imagination  as  that  your 
registers  and  your  bonds,  your  affidavits  and  your  suffer 
ances,  your  cockets  and  your  clearances,  are  what  form 
the  great  securities  of  your  commerce.  Do  not  dream 
that  your  letters  of  office  and  your  instructions  and  your  10 
suspending  clauses  are  the  things  that  hold  together  the 
great  contexture  of  the  mysterious  whole.  These  things 
do  not  make  your  government.  Dead  instruments,  pas 
sive  tools  as  they  are,  it  is  the  spirit  of  the  English  com 
munion  that  gives  all  their  life  and  efficacy  to  them.  It  15 
is  the  spirit  of  the  English  Constitution,  which,  infused 
through  the  mighty  mass,  pervades,  feeds,  unites,  invigo 
rates,  vivifies  every  part  of  the  empire,  even  down  to  the 
minutest  member. 

Is  it  not  the  same  virtue  which  does  everything  for  us  20 
here  in  England?     Do  you  imagine,  then,  that  it  is  the 
Land  Tax  Act  which  raises  your  revenue?  that  it  is  the 
annual  vote  in  the  Committee  of  Supply  which  gives  you 
your  army?  or  that  it  is  the  Mutiny  Bill  which  inspires 
it  with  bravery  and  discipline?     No!  surely  no!     It  1825 
the  love  of  the  people  ;   it  is  their  attachment  to  their 
government,  from  the  sense  of  the  deep  stake  they  have 
in  such  a  glorious  institution,  which  gives  you  your  army 
and  your  navy,  and  infuses  into  both  that  liberal  obedience 


126  Speech  on  Conciliation 

without  which  your  army  would  be  a  base  rabble,  and 
your  navy  nothing  but  rotten  timber. 

All  this,  I  know  well  enough,  will  sound  wild  and 
chimerical  to  the  profane l  herd  of  those  vulgar 2  and 
5  mechanical  politicians  who  have  no  place  among  us,  —  a 
sort  of  people  who  think  that  nothing  exists  but  what  is 
gross  and  material ;  and  who,  therefore,  far  from  being 
qualified  to  be  directors  of  the  great  movement  of  em 
pire,  are  not  fit  to  turn  a  wheel  in  the  machine.  But  to 

10  men  truly  initiated  and  rightly  taught,  these  ruling  and 
master  principles,  which  in  the  opinion  of  such  men  as  I 
have  mentioned  have  no  substantial  existence,  are  in  truth 
everything  and  all  in  all.  Magnanimity  in  politics  is  not 
seldom  the  truest  wisdom ;  and  a  great  empire  and  little 

15  minds  go  ill  together.  If  we  are  conscious  of  our  situa 
tion,  and  glow  with  zeal  to  fill  our  places  as  becomes  our 
station  and  ourselves,  we  ought  to  auspicate  all  our  public 
proceedings  on  America  with  the  old  warning  of  the 
church,  Sursum  corda  !  We  ought  to  elevate  our  minds 

20  to  the  greatness  of  that  trust  to  which  the  order3  of  Provi 
dence  has  called  us.  By  adverting  to  the  dignity  of  this 
high  calling,  our  ancestors  have  turned  a  savage  wilder 
ness  into  a  glorious  empire,  and  have  made  the  most 
extensive,  and  the  only  honourable  conquests,  not  by  de- 

25  stroying,  but  by  promoting  the  wealth,  the  number,  the 
happiness  of  the  human  race.  Let  us  get  an  American 
revenue  as  we  have  got  an  American  empire.  English 

1  Corrupt.  2  Commonplace.  8  Plan. 


Speech  on   Conciliation  127 

privileges  have  made  it  all  that  it  is ;  English  privileges 
alone  will  make  it  all  it  can  be. 

In  full  confidence  of  this  unalterable  truth,  I  now  (quod 
felix  faustumque  sit!}  lay  the  first  stone  of  the  Temple 
of  Peace  ;  and  I  move  you,  —  5 

That  the  colonies  and  plantations  of  Great  Britain  in  North 
America,  consisting  of  fourteen  separate  governments,  and  con 
taining  two  millions  and  upwards  of  free  inhabitants,  have  not  had 
the  liberty  and  privilege  of  electing  and  sending  any  knights  and 
burgesses,  or  others,  to  represent  them  in  the  high  court  of  Parlia-  ic 
ment. 


Upon  this  resolution  the  previous  question  was  put  and 
carried  :  for  the  previous  question,  270;  against  it,  78. 

As  the  propositions  were  opened2  separately  in  the 
body  of  the  speech,  the  reader  perhaps  may  wish  to  see  15 
the  whole  of  them  together  in  the  form  in  which  they 
were  moved  for.     The  first  four  motions  and  the  last  had 
the  previous  question  put  on   them.     The   others  were 
negatived.     The  words  in  italics  were,  by  an  amendment 
that  was  carried,  left  out  of  the  motion  ;  which  will  appear  20 
in  the  journals,  though  it  is  not  the  practice  to  insert  such 
amendments  in  the  votes. 

Moved, 

That  the  colonies  and  plantations  of  Great  Britain  in  North 
America,  consisting  of   fourteen   separate  governments,  and  con-  25 
taining  two  millions  and  upwards  of  free  inhabitants,  have  not  had 

1  Presented. 


128  Speech  on  Conciliation 

the  liberty  and  privilege  of  electing  and  sending  any  knights  and 
burgesses,  or  others,  to  represent  them  in  the  high  court  of  Parlia 
ment. 

That  the  said  colonies  and  plantations  have  been  liable  to,  and 
5  bounden   by,  several  subsidies,  payments,   rates  and  taxes,  given 
and  granted  by  Parliament,  though  the  said  colonies  and  planta 
tions  have  not  their  knights  and  burgesses  in  the  said  high  court 
of  Parliament,  of  their  own  election,  to  represent  the  condition  of 
their  country ;    by  lack  whereof  they  have  been  oftentimes  touched 
10  and  grieved  by  subsidies  given,  granted  and  assented  to,  in  the  said 
court,  in  a  manner  prejudicial  to  the  commonwealth,  qtiietness,  rest 
and  peace  of  the  subjects  inhabiting  within  the  same, 

That,  from  the  distance   of  the  said  colonies  and   from   other 
circumstances,  no  method  hath  hitherto  been  devised  for  procuring 
15  a  representation  in  Parliament  for  the  said  colonies. 

That  each  of  the  said  colonies  hath  within  itself  a  body,  chosen 
in  part  or  in  the  whole  by  the  freemen,  freeholders  or  other  free 
inhabitants  thereof,  commonly  called  the  general  assembly,  or  gen 
eral  court,  with  powers  legally  to  raise,  levy  and  assess,  according 
20  to  the  several  usages  of  such  colonies,  duties  and  taxes  towards 
defraying  all  sorts  of  public  services. 

That  the  said  general  assemblies,  general  courts,  or  other  bodies 
legally  qualified  as  aforesaid,  have  at  sundry  times  freely  granted 
several  large  subsidies  and  public  aids  for  his  Majesty's  service, 
25  according  to  their  abilities,  when  required  thereto  by  letter  from 
one  of  his  Majesty's  principal  secretaries  .of  state;  and  that  their 
right  to  grant  the  same  and  their  cheerfulness  and  sufficiency  in  the 
said  grants  have  been  at  sundry  times  acknowledged  by  Parliament. 

That  it  hath  been  found  by  experience  that  the  manner  of  grant- 

30  ing  the  said  supplies  and  aids  by  the  said  general  assemblies  hath 

been  more  agreeable  to  the  said  colonies,  and  more  beneficial  and 


Speech  on  Conciliation  129 

conducive  to  the  public  service,  than  the  mode  of  giving  and  grant 
ing  aids  in  Parliament,  to  be  raised  and  paid  in  the  said  colonies. 

That  it  may  be  proper  to  repeal  an  act  made  in  the  seventh  year 
of  the  reign  of  his  present  Majesty,  entitled,  "  An  act  for  granting 
certain  duties  in  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  in  America;  5 
for  allowing  a  drawback  of  the  duties  of  customs  upon  the  expor 
tation  from  this  kingdom  of  coffee  and  cocoanuts  of  the  produce 
of  the  said  colonies  or  plantations;    for  discontinuing   the    draw 
backs  payable  on  China  earthenware  exported  to    America;   and 
for  more  effectually  preventing  the  clandestine  running  of  goods  in  i« 
the  said  colonies  and  plantations." 

That  it  may  be  proper  to  repeal  an  act  made  in  the  fourteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  his  present  Majesty,  entitled,  "  An  act  to  dis 
continue,  in  such  manner  and  for  such  time  as  are  therein  mentioned, 
the  landing  and  discharging,  lading  or  shipping,  of  goods,  wares  15 
and  merchandise,  at  the  town  and  within  the  harbour  of  Boston,  in 
the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  North  America." 

That  it  may  be  proper  to  repeal  an  act  made  in  the  fourteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  his  present  Majesty,  entitled,  "  An  act  for  the 
impartial  administration  of  justice  in  the  cases  of  persons  questioned  2C 
for  any  acts  done  by  them  in  the  execution  of  the  law,  or  for  the 
suppression  of  riots  and  tumults,  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  in  New  England." 

That  it  may  be  proper  to  repeal  an  act  made  in  the  fourteenth 
.year  of  the  reign  of  his  present  Majesty,  entitled,  "  An  act  for  the  25 
better  regulating  the  government  of  the  province  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  in  New  England." 

That  it  may  be  proper  to  explain  and  amend  an  act  made  in  the 
thirty-fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Henry  the   Eighth,  entitled, 
"  An  act  for  the  trial  of  treasons   committed   out   of  the   king's  30 
dominions." 

BURKE  ON   CONCILIATION  —  Q 


ijo  Speech  on   Conciliation 

That  from  the  time  when  the  general  assembly,  or  general  court, 
of  any  colony  or  plantation  in  North  America  shall  have  appointed, 
by  act  of  assembly  duly  confirmed,  a  settled  salary  to  the  offices  of 
the  chief  justice  and  other  judges  of  the  superior  court,  it  may  be 
5  proper  that  the  said  chief  justice  and  other  judges  of  the  superior 
courts  of  such  colony  shall  hold  his  and  their  office  and  offices 
during  their  good  behaviour,  and  shall  not  be  removed  therefrom 
but  when  the  said  removal  shall  be  adjudged  by  his  Majesty  in 
council,  upon  a  hearing  on  complaint  from  the  general  assembly, 
10  or  on  a  complaint  from  the  governor  or  council  or  the  house  of  rep 
resentatives,  severally,  of  the  colony  in  which  the  said  chief  justice 
and  other  judges  have  exercised  the  said  offices. 

That  it  may  be  proper  to  regulate  the  courts  ot  admiralty  or  vice- 
admiralty  authorized  by  the   fifteenth   chapter    of  the    fourth    of 
'5  George  the  Third,  in  such  a  manner  as   to  make  the   same  more 
commodious  to  those  who  sue  or  are  sued  in  the  said  courts;  and  to 
provide  for  the  more  decent  maintenance  of  the  judges  in  the  same. 


PROPERTY  OF 
DEPARTMENT  OF  DRAMATIC  ART 

NOTES 

The  heavy  marginal  figures  stand  for  page,  and  the  lighter  ones  for  line. 

37  :  i.  I  hope,  Sir,  etc.  Speeches  in  the  House  of  Commons 
are  addressed  to  the  Speaker,  who  is  often  referred  to  as  the  Chair. 
The  Speaker  at  this  time  was  Sir  Fletcher  Norton  (1716-1789), 
"  a  shrewd,  unprincipled  man,  of  good  abilities  and  offensive 
manners,"  who  held  the  office  from  1770  to  1780. 

37  :  7.  My  motion.  The  motion  which  he  was  to  offer  at  the 
conclusion  of  his  speech. 

37  :  8.  Grand  penal  bill.  The  bill  introduced  by  Lord  North, 
February  10,  1775. 

37  :  10.  Returned  to  us  from  the  other  House.  The  bill  had 
passed  the  Commons  March  8,  and  been  sent  to  the  Lords.  The 
Lords  had  added  an  amendment  extending  the  provisions  of  the 
bill  to  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  South 
Carolina.  The  bill  came  back  to  the  Commons  for  approval  in  its 
amended  form. 

37  :  13.  Once  more  in  possession  of  our  deliberative  capac 
ity.  Once  more  in  a  position  to  discuss  the  bill.  While  the  bill 
was  before  the  Lords  it  could  not  with  propriety  be  discussed  by 
the  Commons. 

37  :  19.     First  day  of  the  session.    The  session  began  Novem 
ber  29,  1774. 

38  :  3.     Incongruous  mixture  of  coercion  and  restraint.    The 
bill  aimed  to  break  down  the  resistance  to  the  tea  duty  at  the  same 
time  that  it  restrained  the  colonial  trade.     The  union  of  the  two 
objects  hardly  seems  incongruous. 


Notes 


38  :  9.     When  I  first,  etc.     See  Introduction,  page  24. 

38  :  14.  A  very  high  trust.  Referring  to  the  idea,  often  em 
phasized  by  Burke,  that  the  powers  of  government  are  held  by 
rulers  in  trust  for  the  people. 

38  :  17.  More  than  common  pains  to  instruct  myself. 
Burke  was  probably  better  informed  than  any  Englishman  of  his 
time  in  regard  to  America.  He  was  the  author  in  part  of  the 
Account  of  the  European  Settlements  in  America,  written  in  1757, 
and  since  1759  had  written  much  about  America  for  the  Annual 
Register. 

38  :  24.  Blown  about  by  every  wind  of  fashionable  doctrine. 
Compare  Ephesians  iv.  14. 

38  :  28.     At  that  period.     In  1766,  when  the  Stamp  Act  was 
repealed.     On  Burke's  position  see  Introduction,  page  24. 

39  :  i.     Large  majority.    The  vote  on  the  repeal  was  275  to  161. 
39  :  10.     This  interval.     The  period  since  1766. 

39  :  10.  More  frequent  changes.  See  Introduction,  pages 
15-17.  The  passage  and  repeal  of  the  Townshend  Revenue  Act 
was  the  most  important  of  these  changes. 

39  :  26.  A  worthy  member.  Rose  Fuller.  Burke's  Speech  on 
American  Taxation  was  made  on  a  motion  brought  forward  by 
Fuller  to  repeal  the  tea  duty. 

39  :  27.    Filled  th3  Chair  of  the  American  Committee.    Pre 
sided  when  the  House  of  Commons  sat  as  a  Committee  of  the  Whole 
on  American  affairs. 

40  :  3.     Our  former  methods.     The  methods  of  the  minority,  to 
which  Fuller  and  Burke  belonged. 

40  :  5.     Public  tribunal.     Public  opinion. 

40  :  22.  My  honourable  friend.  Members  of  the  Commons  are 
referred  to  in  debate  as  "  the  honourable  member,"  "  my  honour 
able  friend,"  etc.,  and  not  by  name. 

41:4.  Except  from  a  seat  of  authority.  Important  bills  are 
usually  brought  forward  by  members  of  the  ministry,  not  by  private 
members. 


Notes  133 

41  :  ii.  Paper  government.  Burke  probably  refers,  not  to  any 
particular  plan,  but  generally  to  schemes  of  government  which  are 
not  or  can  not  be  carried  into  execution. 

41  :  15.     An  incurable  alienation  of  our  colonies.    The  idea 
of  separation  was  not  general  at  this  time,  though  the  possibility  of 
it  had  been  clearly  foreseen. 

42  :  4.     What   you   are,   etc.      Burke    is   here    addressing   the 
House,  not  the  Speaker. 

42  :  17.  Discord  fomented  from  principle.  Lord  North  re 
tained  the  tea  duty  as  an  assertion  of  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax 
the  colonies  ;  the  colonies  resisted  the  tax  on  the  ground  that,  as 
Englishmen,  they  could  lawfully  be  taxed  only  by  their  own  repre 
sentatives.  Each  party,  therefore,  stood  upon  a  principle. 

42  :  25.  Unsuspecting  confidence.  In  an  address  to  the  in 
habitants  of  the  colonies  represented  in  the  First  Continental  Con 
gress,  agreed  to  by  the  Congress,  October  21,  1774,  it  is  said: 
"  After  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  having  again  resigned  our 
selves  to  our  ancient  unsuspicious  affections  for  the  parent  state, 
and  anxious  to  avoid  any  controversy  with  her,  in  hopes  of  a  favour 
able  alteration  in  sentiments  and  measures  towards  us,  we  did  not 
press  our  objections  against  the  above-mentioned  statutes  made 
subsequent  to  that  repeal "  {Journals  of  Congress,  i.  47,  48). 

43:  14.  Splendour  of  the  project.  February  27,  1775,  Lord 
North  had  unexpectedly  laid  before  the  House,  in  Committee  of 
the  Whole,  the  following  resolution:  "That  it  is  the  opinion  of 
this  Committee,  that  when  the  Governor,  Council,  and  Assembly, 
or  General  Court,  of  any  of  his  Majesty's  Provinces  or  Colonies  in 
America,  shall  propose  to  make  provision,  according  to  the  condi 
tion,  circumstances,  and  situation  of  such  Province  or  Colony,  for 
contributing  their  proportion  to  the  common  defence,  (such  pro 
portion  to  be  raised  under  the  authority  of  the  General  Court,  or 
General  Assembly,  of  such  Province  or  Colony,  and  disposable  by 
Parliament,)  and  shall  engage  to  make  provision  aiso  for  the  sup 
port  of  the  Civil  Government,  and  the  Administration  of  Justice,  in 


134  Notes 

such  Province  or  Colony,  it  will  be  proper,  if  such  proposal  shall  be 
approved  by  his  Majesty  and  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  and 
for  so  long  as  such  provision  shall  be  made  accordingly,  to  forbear, 
in  respect  of  such  Province  or  Colony,  to  levy  any  Duty,  Tax,  or 
Assessment,  or  to  impose  any  farther  Duty,  Tax,  or  Assessment, 
except  only  such  Duties  as  it  may  be  expedient  to  continue  to  levy 
or  to  impose  for  the  regulation  of  commerce;  the  net  produce 
of  the  Duties  last  mentioned  to  be  carried  to  the  account  of  such 
Province  or  Colony  respectively  "  (Force,  American  Archives,  4th 
series,  i.  1598).  The  resolution,  though  unsatisfactory  to  the 
friends  of  the  ministry,  was  agreed  to  by  the  House  ;  July  31, 
however,  the  proposition  it  contained  was  rejected  by  the  Conti 
nental  Congress.  For  the  report  on  it  see  MacDonald,  Select 
Charters,  385-389. 

43  :  15.  The  noble  lord  in  the  blue  ribbon.  Lord  North 
(1732-1792),  prime  minister  from  1770  to  1782.  The  eldest  son 
of  a  peer  enjoys,  during  the  lifetime  of  his  father,  the  courtesy  title 
of  Lord,  and  may  sit  in  the  House  of  Commons.  The  blue  ribbon 
was  the  badge  of  a  Knight  of  the  Garter,  of  which  order  Lord  North 
was  a  member. 

43  :  17.  Colony  agents.  Each  colony  maintained  an  agent  in 
London  to  look  after  its  interests.  The  best-known  of  the  colonial 
agents  was  Franklin,  who  at  the  time  represented  Massachusetts, 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Georgia.  Burke  was  for  a  time  agent 
for  New  York. 

43  :  1 8.  Mace.  The  symbol  of  authority  borne  by  the  sergeant- 
at-arms. 

43  :  20.     Auction  of  finance.     Referring  to  the  silence  of  Lord 
North's  resolution  regarding  the  amount  which  each  colony  should 
pay. 

44  :  2.    Menacing  front  of  our  address.    On  the  7th  of  February 
the  two  houses  of  Parliament  had  voted  an  address  to  the  king,  call 
ing  attention  to  the  rebellious  conduct  of  Massachusetts,  dec'aring 
that  no  part  of  the  sovereign  authority  over  the  colonies  ought  to 


Notes 


be  relinquished,  promising  that  "  whenever  any  of  the  colonies  shall 
make  a  proper  application  to  us,  we  shall  be  ready  to  afford  them 
every  just  and  reasonable  indulgence,"  and  pledging  support  to  the 
king,  "  at  the  hazard  of  our  lives  and  properties,"  in  measures  to  put 
down  the  rebellion.  Eighteen  members  of  the  Lords  protested, 
declaring  the  address  a  virtual  declaration  of  war.  See  the  Parlia 
mentary  History,  xviii.  265-298. 

46:10.  Two  millions  of  inhabitants.  Bancroft  (History  of  the 
United  States,  iv.  128)  gives  the  following  table  of  estimates,  show 
ing  the  rapid  increase  as  well  as  the  number  of  the  population  :  — 


WHITE 

BLACK 

TOTAL 

'75° 

I,O4O,OOO 

22O,OOO 

1,260,000 

1754 

I,l65,OOO 

26o,OOO 

1,425,000 

1760 

1,385,000 

310,000 

1,695,000 

1770 

1,850,000 

462,000 

2,312,000 

1780 

2,383,000 

562,000 

2,945,000 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  all  the  figures  for  the  population  of 
America  prior  to  the  first  census  of  the  United  States,  in  1790,  rest 
upon  estimates  only. 

46  :  12.     500,000  others.     Negro  slaves. 

46:18.  Strength  with  which  population  shoots.  The  rapid 
ity  with  which  population  grows.  Franklin  and  others  had  already 
called  attention  to  the  rapid  increase  of  numbers  in  the  English 
colonies. 

47  :  i.     No    partial  .  .  .  system.     Such   as   Parliament    has 
hitherto  followed. 

47  :  4.  One  of  those  minima.  An  allusion  to  the  legal  maxim, 
De  minim  is  non  curat  lex,  the  law  takes  no  account  of  trifles. 

47  :  20.  This  ground  .  .  .  has  been  trod.  This  part  of  the 
subject  has  been  considered. 


i36 


Notes 


47:22.  A  distinguished  person.  Richard  Glover  (1712-1785), 
then  widely  popular  as  a  poet.  He  had  appeared  before  the  House, 
March  1 6,  on  behalf  of  the  West  India  planters,  who  petitioned 
Parliament  for  relief  from  the  injury  threatened  by  the  non-impor 
tation  agreement,  known  as  the  "  Association,"  adopted  by  the 
American  Congress  the  previous  October.  For  the  text  of  the 
Association  see  MacDonald,  Select  Charters,  pp.  362-367. 

47  :  22.  At  your  bar.  The  entrance  to  the  Commons  chamber 
is  closed  by  a  rod,  beyond  which  only  members  and  officers  of  the 
House  may  go.  Persons,  not  members,  who  are  examined  or  heard 
by  the  House  stand  at  the  bar. 

47  :  23.     Thirty-five  years.     Burke  is  in  error  here.     It  was  in 
1742  —  thirty-three  years   before  —  that    Glover  appeared  before 
the  House  01*  behalf  of  some   three  hundred  London  merchants, 
who   had   petitioned    for    better   protection    for   their   commerce 
against  Spanish  privateers. 

48  :  22.     Vouchers.     Used  here  in  the  sense  of  authorities  or 
sources. 

48  :  22.  Accounts  on  your  table.  Accounts  officially  presented 
to  the  House. 

48  :  24.  Davenant.  Charles  Davenant  (1656-1714).  He  was 
made  inspector  general  of  exports  and  imports  in  1705.  He 
wrote  on  economic  subjects,  his  best-known  work  being  his  Dis 
course  on  Revenue  and  Trade. 

48  :  28.    Terminating  ...  in  the  colonies.     English  manu 
factured  goods  were  sent  to  Africa  and  exchanged  for  slaves,  who 
were  sold  almost  exclusively  in  America. 

49  :  2.     North  American.     Often  applied  collectively  to  all  the 
English  colonies  in  America  except  those  in  the  West  Indies. 

51  :  3.  Mr.  Speaker,  etc.  Notice  the  skilful  transition 
from  a  statistical  exhibit  to  the  highly  rhetorical  passage  which 
follows. 

51  :  4.  It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here.  Compare  Matthew  xvii, 
1-4. 


Notes  137 

51  :  12.  My  Lord  Bathurst.  Allen  Bathurst  (1684-1775). 
He  became  Earl  Bathurst  in  1772.  He  was  on  terms  of  intimacy 
with  Congreve,  Swift,  Prior,  Addison,  Pope,  Gay,  and  other  literary 
men  of  his  time.  He  died  about  six  months  after  the  delivery  of 
this  speech. 

51  :  14.  Of  an  age  ...  to  comprehend.  Lord  Bathurst 
entered  Parliament  in  1705. 

51  :  15.  Acta  parentum,  etc.  To  be  able  to  study  the  deeds 
of  his  forefathers,  and  to  learn  what  virtue  is.  Altered  from  Virgil, 
Eclogiies,  iv.  26,  27. 

51  :  20.  In  the  fourth  generation  the  third  prince.  George 
III,  the  third  prince  of  the  House  of  Brunswick  to  become  king 
of  England,  was  the  grandson  of  George  II,  whom  he  succeeded. 

51  :  22.  Twelve  years.  The  reign  of  George  III  began  in 
1760. 

51  :  24.  Was  to  be  made  Great  Britain.  The  union  of  Eng 
land  and  Scotland  in  Great  Britain  did  not  take  place  until  1707. 

51  :  25.     His  son.     Henry,  Baron  Apsley,  made  lord  chancellor 
in  1771. 

52  :  ii.     Taste  of  death.     See  Mattheiv  xvi.  28;  John  viii.  52; 
Julius  Casar,  ii.  2.  33 :    "  The  valiant  never  taste  of  death  but 
once." 

53  :  3.    The  export.    The  value  of  the  exports. 

53  :  14.  Detail  the  imports.  Give  in  detail  the  list  of  articles 
imported. 

53  :  23.  Feeding  plentifully  their  own  growing  multitude. 
Americans  were  probably  much  better  fed  at  this  time  than  English 
men.  There  was  little  poverty,  and  the  standard  of  living,  though 
simple,  was  higher  for  the  middle  and  lower  classes  than  in  EnglancL 

53  :  28.     Corn.     Not  Indian  corn,  but  wheat,  barley,  and  other 
grains  used  for  making  bread. 

54  :  5.     The  full  breast.     A  reference  to  the  story  of  a  Roman, 
who,  condemned  to  death  by  starvation,  was  visited  in  prison  by 
his  daughter,  who  nourished  him  with  milk  from  her  own  breast. 


13  8  Notes 

54  :  10.  Excite  your  envy.  In  1764  Grenville  "adopted  the 
plan  of  gradually  giving  up  the  bounty  to  the  British  whale  fishery, 
which  would  be  a  saving  of  thirty  thousand  pounds  a  year  to  the 
treasury,  and  of  relieving  the  American  fishery  from  the  inequality 
of  the  discriminating  duty,  except  the  old  subsidy,  which  was 
scarcely  one  per  cent.  This  is  the  most  liberal  act  of  Grenville's 
administration,  of  which  the  merit  is  not  diminished  by  the  fact 
that  the  American  whale  fishery  was  superseding  the  English 
under  every  discouragement.  ...  So  this  valuable  branch  of 
trade,  which  produced  annually  three  hundred  thousand  pounds, 
and  which  would  give  employment  to  many  shipwrights  and 
other  artificers,  and  to  three  thousand  seamen,  was  resigned  to 
America"  (Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  States,  v.  185).  This 
important  industry  would  be  cut  off  by  the  bill  now  before 
Parliament. 

54  :  23.  Serpent.  The  Hydrus,  or  Water  Serpent,  a  small 
constellation  within  the  Antarctic  Circle. 

54  :  23.     Falkland  Island.     The  Falkland  Islands,  discovered 
in   1592,  and  occupied  successively  by  France  and   Spain,  passed 
into   the  control  of   England  in    1771.     Whalers  resorted  to  the 
islands  for  provisions  and  water. 

55  :  i.     Run  the  longitude.     An  expression  of  uncertain  mean 
ing.     Apparently  it  means  to  run  east  or  west,  though  the  direction 
here  is  south. 

55  :  3.  Vexed.  "The  still-vex'd  Bermoothes,"  Tempest,  i.  2. 
229.  "  As  mad  as  the  vex'd  sea,"  King  Lear,  iv.  4.  2. 

55  :  ii.  Owe  little  or  nothing  to  any  care  of  ours.  The  sen 
tence  recalls  the  famous  speech  of  Isaac  Barre  against  the  Stamp 
Act:  "They  [the  colonies]  planted  by  your  care!  No;  your  op 
pression  planted  them  in  America.  .  .  .  They  nourished  up  by 
your  indulgence  !  They  grew  by  your  neglect  of  them." 

55  :  23.     In  the  gross.    As  a  whole. 

56  :  2.     Wield   the   thunder.     An  allusion   to   Jove   and   his 
thunderbolts. 


Notes  139 


57  :  2.  Caught  by  a  foreign  enemy.  It  was  widely  feared, 
and  with  good  reason,  that,  notwithstanding  the  peace  of  1763, 
France  and  Spain  would  seize  the  first  favourable  opportunity  to 
renew  the  war. 

57  :  6.  Break  the  American  spirit.  The  Americans  had  been 
referred  to  in  the  debates  as  rebels  who  must  be  compelled  to 
submit. 

57  :  ii.    Our  ancient  indulgence.     General  Burgoyne  had  said, 
April  19,  1774,  in  the  debate  on  the  repeal  of  the  tea  duty :  "  I  look 
upon  America  to  be  our  child,  which  I  think  we  have  already  spoiled 
by  too  much  indulgence."     Until  1764  no  serious  attempt  was  made 
to  enforce  the  Navigation  Acts,  nor  had  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
colonies  as  a  whole  been  much  interfered  with. 

58  :  9.     Descendants  of  Englishmen.    Probably  nine-tenths  of 
the  American  colonists  outside  of  Canada  were  of  English  descent. 
The  principal  foreign  admixtures  were  the  Dutch  in  New  York,  the 
Germans  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Scotch-Irish  in  North  and  South 
Carolina.     The  population  of  Canada,  on  the  other  hand,  was  pre 
dominantly  French. 

58  :  12.  Emigrated  from  you.  The  great  period  of  emigration 
to  America  was  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the 
people  were  struggling  against  James  I  and  Charles  I. 

58  :  13.  Took  this  bias  and  direction.  Virginia  after  1625,  and 
Massachusetts  from  the  beginning,  were  largely  free  from  English 
control. 

58  :  1 6.  Liberty  according  to  English  ideas.  The  first  charter 
of  Virginia  (1606)  declares  "  that  all  and  every  the  persons,  being 
our  subjects,  which  shall  dwell  and  inhabit  within  every  or  any 
of  the  said  several  colonies  and  plantations,  and  every  of  their 
children  which  shall  happen  to  be  born  within  any  of  the  limits  and 
precincts  of  the  said  several  colonies  and  plantations,  shall  have 
and  enjoy  all  liberties,  franchises,  and  immunities,  within  any  of 
our  other  dominions,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  if  they  had  been 
abiding  and  born  within  this  our  realm  of  England,  or  any  other 


140  Notes 

of  our  said  dominions."  Similar  guarantees  are  found  in  latei 
charters. 

58  :  1 8.  Sensible  object.  A  tangible  object,  one  that  may  be 
perceived  by  the  senses  ;  not  theoretical  or  abstract.  There  was 
a  good  deal  of  talk  at  this  time  about  abstract  liberty. 

58  :  22.  Great  contests  for  freedom.  For  example,  the  struggle 
which  ended  in  the  grant  of  Magna  Charta,  and  those  which  con 
cerned  subsidies,  benevolences,  monopolies,  ship  money,  etc. 

58  :  24.     Ancient  commonwealths.     Particularly  in  Rome. 

58  :  26.     Several   orders.      Social    classes,    as    patricians    and 
plebeians. 

59  :  7.      Parchments.      Documents.      Statutes    and    important 
documents  were  written  on  parchment. 

59  :  7.  Blind  usages.  Usages  which  were  established  imper 
ceptibly,  and  to  which  no  definite  origin  could  be  assigned. 

59  :  10.  In  theory  it  ought  to  be  so.  A  rare  instance  with 
Burke  of  resort  to  theoretical  proof. 

59  :  20.  Fixed  and  attached.  Supply  "  itself."  The  meaning 
is  that  the  colonies  regarded  the  right  of  self-taxation  as  the  chief 
test  of  liberty. 

59  :  29.     Your  mode  of  governing.     The  colonies  had  never, 
until  1765,  been  taxed  directly  by  England. 

60  :  6.     Popular.     Controlled  by  the  people,  either  directly,  as  in 
the  town  meeting,  or  indirectly,  as  in  government  by  a  legislature 
elected  by  the  people. 


6o 

7- 

Merely  popular.     Wholly  popular,  as  in  the  New 

Eng- 

land  t 

owns 

60 

10. 

Aversion  from.     Aversion  to  is  now  used. 

60 

1  8. 

That  kind.     Dissenters. 

60 

20. 

Persuasion.     State  of  mind. 

60 

28. 

Authority.     The  secular  government,  or  state. 

61 

6. 

All  Protestantism  ...  is  a  sort  of  dissent. 

An 

allusion    to    the    original    meaning    of    Protestant    as    "  one 

who 

protests." 

Notes  141 

61.  :  7.  The  religion  most  prevalent.  Puritanism,  in  the  form 
of  Congregationalism,  with  the  theology  of  Calvin. 

61  :  9.     Dissidence  of  dissent.     Dissent  carried  to  an  extreme. 

62  :  8.     Freedom  is  to  them,  etc.     Burke  here  touches  upon  one 
of  the  chief  characteristics  of  Southern  society. 

62  :  10.  Freedom  .  .  .  may  be  united.  The  presence  of  slave 
labour  early  operated  to  discourage  free  white  labour  in  the  South. 

62  :  22.  Gothic.  In  the  sense,  common  in  the  eighteenth  cen 
tury,  of  "Teutonic"  or  "Germanic."  The  Goths,  properly  so 
called,  were  not  the  ancestors  of  the  English. 

62  :  23.     Were  the  Poles.     Until  1772,  when  the  first  partition 
of  the  country  was  made  by  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia.     Nine 
tenths  of  the  population  were  serfs. 

63:3.  Numerous  and  powerful.  One  of  the  papers  laid  before 
Parliament,  in  1766,  relating  to  the  disturbances  over  the  Stamp 
Act,  says  of  New  York :  "  The  gentlemen  of  the  law,  both  the 
judges  and  the  principal  practitioners  at  the  bar,  are  either  owners 
or  strongly  connected  in  family  interest  with  the  proprietors  in 
general.  The  gentlemen  of  the  law  some  years  since  entered  into 
an  association,  with  intention  among  other  things  to  assume  the 
direction  of  government  upon  them  by  the  influence  they  had  in 
the  assembly,  gained  by  their  family  connection  and  by  the  profes 
sion  of  the  law,  whereby  they  are  unavoidably  in  the  secrets  of 
many  families.  Many  court  their  friendship,  and  all  dread  their 
hatred  ;  by  this  means,  though  few  of  them  are  members,  they  rule 
the  house  of  the  assembly  in  all  matters  of  importance  "  {Parlia 
mentary  History,  xvi.  125). 

63  :  5.     The  Congress.    The  First  Continental  Congress,  which 
met  at  Philadelphia  September  5,  1774. 

63  :  10.  Plantations.  A  common  synonym  at  this  time  for 
"  colonies." 

63:12.  Blackstone's  Commentaries.  Sir  William  Blackstone 
(1723-1780)  published  his  Commentaries  on  the  Laws  of  England 
between  1765  and  1769.  The  work  at  once  became  popular,  and 


142  Notes 

long  held  its  place  as  the  best  introduction  to  the  study  of  English 
law. 

63:13.  General  Gage.  Thomas  Gage  (1721-1787).  In  1763 
he  was  made  commander  in  chief  of  the  English  forces  in  America, 
and  in  1774  governor  and  captain  general  of  Massachusetts.  lie 
arrived  in  Boston  in  May,  1774. 

63  :  14.  A  letter  on  your  table.  January  19,  1775,  Lord  North 
had  laid  before  the  House  a  letter  from  Gage,  dated  August  27, 
1774,  describing  his  unsuccessful  attempts  to  enforce  the  pro 
visions  of  the  Massachusetts  Government  Act  which  forbade  town 
meetings. 

63  :  17.  By  successful  chicane.  The  Massachusetts  Govern 
ment  Act  went  into  effect  August  I,  1774,  and  after  that  date  no 
town  meetings  could  legally  be  held.  The  Boston  town  meeting 
held  in  July  was  adjourned  until  August  9,  and  again  until  October. 
The  selectmen  claimed  that  an  adjourned  meeting  was  not  a  new 
meeting,  but  a  continuation  of  a  former  one,  and  therefore  not  in 
violation  of  the  act. 

63 :  22.  My  honourable  and  learned  friend.  Lord  Thurlow, 
the  attorney-general,  and  as  such  a  member  of  the  ministry. 

63  :  23.  On  the  floor.  The  members  of  the  House  of  Commons 
sit  on  benches,  which  are  arranged  in  tiers,  the  lowest,  that  on  the 
floor  at  the  right  of  the  Speaker,  being  reserved  for  members  of  the 
ministry.  There  is  no  provision  of  chairs  and  desks  as  in  an  Ameri 
can  legislature  or  in  Congress. 

63  :  24.     Mark  .  .  .  for  animadversion.    Thurlow  was  taking 
notes,  and  was  the  first  to  speak  in  reply  to  Burke. 

64  :  2.     Abeunt,  etc.     One's  pursuits  become  habits. 
64  :  5.     Mercurial  cast.     Active  character  or  nature. 
64  :  19.    Winged  ministers  of  vengeance.    The  navy. 

64  :  23.  So  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther.  Compare 
fob  xxxviii.  n.  Hume,  the  first  volume  of  whose  Hi:tory  of  Eng 
land  had  been  published  in  1754,  had  popularized  the  legend  of 
Canute  and  his  courtiers. 


Notes  143 

65  :  9.  Spain  in  her  provinces.  In  Central  and  South 
America.  The  Spanish  system  of  colonial  administration  was 
rapidly  breaking  down. 

65  :  12.  Detached  empire.  Empire  whose  parts  or  colonies 
are  separated  from  the  parent  state. 

65  :  1 6.  First  mover  of  government.  An  allusion  to  the 
Ptolemaic  system  of  astronomy,  in  which  the  heavenly  bodies  are 
represented  as  forming  a  series  of  spheres,  with  the  earth  as  the 
common  centre.  The  outermost  sphere  was  called  the  primum 
mobile,  or  "  first  moved,"  and  communicated  its  movement  to  the 
others.  The  "  first  mover  "  here  is  Great  Britain. 

65:18.  Grown  with  the  growth,  etc.  So  Pope,  Essay  on  Man, 
ii.  136 :  "  Grows  with  his  growth,  and  strengthens  with  his  strength." 

65  :  21.  However  lawful.  The  precise  extent  of  the  power  of 
Parliament  over  the  colonies  had  never  been  defined,  but  the  better 
opinion  of  lawyers  was  that  the  power  was  absolute,  and  to  be 
exercised  at  the  discretion  of  Parliament. 

65  :  24.     This  excess.     The  violent  proceedings  in  the  colonies. 

66  :  7.    With  all  its   imperfections.    Compare  Hamlet,  i.  5. 

78,  79- 

66  :  1 6.     Untractable.     Now  usually  "  intractable." 

66  :  24.     The  popular  part.    The  representative  assemblies  of 

the  colonial  legislatures. 

66  :  25.     Constitution.     System  of  government. 

66  :  26.     Its  first  vital  movement.    The  colonial  legislatures 
were  summoned  by  the  governor,  who  in  most  colonies  was  ap 
pointed  by  the  crown. 

67  :  3.    None  but  an  obedient  assembly  should  sit.    The  New 
York  Assembly  had  been  suspended  in  1767  for  refusing  to  comply 
fully  with  the  provisions  of  the  Quartering  Act  (see  MacDonald, 
Select  Charters,  317—320).     Many  of  the  assemblies  had  been  dis 
solved  in  1768—1769  for  expressing  approval  of  the  Massachusetts 
Circular  (ibid.,  330-335).     There  had  been  numerous  other  in 
stances  since. 


144  Notes 


67  :  8.  Formed  a  government.  In  the  several  colonies  com 
mittees  of  correspondence  had  assumed  practical  direction  of 
affairs.  The  enforcement  of  the  "  Association  "  was  in  the  hands 
of  committees.  The  formation  of  provincial  congresses  was  also 
going  on. 

67  :  12.  Lord  Dunmore.  John  Murray,  fourth  Earl  of  Dun- 
more  (1732-1809).  He  became  governor  of  Virginia  in  1772. 
His  hostility  to  the  popular  party  in  the  colonies  made  his  testi 
mony  particularly  valuable. 

67  :  13.  The  fragments  on  your  table.  A  letter  from  Dun- 
more,  dated  December  24,  1774,  was  laid  before  the  House  Febru 
ary  15,  1775=  It  was  in  part  as  follows:  "As  to  the  power  of 
government  which  your  lordship  .  .  .  directs  should  be  exerted 
to  counteract  the  dangerous  measures  pursuing  here,  I  can  assure 
your  lordship,  that  it  is  entirely  disregarded,  if  not  wholly  over 
turned.  There  is  not  a  justice  of  peace  in  Virginia  that  acts,  save 
as  a  committee  man  (i.e.,  as  a  member  of  one  of  the  committees 
appointed  to  execute  the  Association)  :  the  abolishing  the  courts 
of  justice  was  the  first  step  taken,  in  which  the  men  of  fortune  and 
pre-eminence  joined  equally  with  the  lowest  and  meanest.  The 
general  court  of  judicature  of  the  colony  is  much  in  the  same  pre 
dicament;  for  though  there  are  at  least  a  majority  of  his  Majesty's 
council  who,  with  myself,  are  the  judges  of  that  court,  that  would 
steadily  perform  their  duty,  yet  the  lawyers  have  absolutely  refused 
to  attend,  nor  indeed  would  the  people  allow  them  to  attend,  or 
evidences  to  appear.  Independent  companies,  &c.  so  universally 
supported,  who  have  set  themselves  up  superior  to  all  other  au 
thority,  under  the  auspices  of  their  congress,  the  laws  of  which 
they  talk  of  in  a  style  of  respect,  and  treat  with  marks  of  reverence, 
which  they  never  bestowed  on  their  legal  government,  or  the  laws 
proceeding  from  it,  I  can  assure  your  lordship,  that  I  have  dis 
covered  no  instance  where  the  interposition  of  government,  in  the 
feeble  state  to  which  it  is  reduced,  could  serve  any  other  purpose 
than  to  suffer  the  disgrace  of  a  disappointment,  and  thereby  afford 


Notes  145 


matter  of  great  exultation  to  its  enemies,  and  increase  their  influ 
ence  o/er  the  minds  of  the  people  "  {Parliamentary  History,  xviii. 


68  :  2.  Wholly  abrogated  the  ancient  government  of  Mas 
sachusetts.  By  the  Massachusetts  Government  Act,  May  20,  1774. 
The  important  parts  of  the  Act  are  in  MacDonald,  Select  Charters, 

343-35°- 

68  :  4.  Anarchy.  Not  in  the  sense  of  disorder,  but  of  the 
absence  of  an  established  government.  It  had  been  frequently 
predicted  in  the  debates  that  the  act  would  restore  quiet  and 
secure  obedience. 

68  :  6.  Anarchy  is  found  tolerable.  The  act  was  generally 
disregarded,  but  the  colony  continued  without  disorder  under  the 
committees  of  correspondence,  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  the 
officials  of  the  town  governments. 

68  :  9.     Without  public  council,  etc.     Most  of  the  members  of 
the  council  who  had  been  chosen  under  the  new  system  had  resigned, 
as  had  also  the  judges,  whose  salaries  were  to  be  paid  by  the  crown. 
The  resignations  were  not  all  voluntary. 

69  :  20.      Giving    up    the    colonies.     Proposed    in    1774  by 
Dr.  Josiah  Tucker   (1711-1799),  Dean  of  Gloucester,  in  a  tract 
entitled,  The  True  Interest  of  Great  Britain  set  forth  in  regard  to 
the  Colonies,  and  the  only  Means  of  living  in  Peace  and  Harmony 
with  them.     The  work  attracted  much  attention,  and  was  reprinted 
in  America.     On  the  plan  see  Lecky,  History  of  England,  iii.  421- 
424.     Burke  minimizes  the  importance  of  the  suggestion. 

70  :  8.     No  further  grants  of  land.     The  region  between  East 
and  West  Florida  and  the  great  lakes,  and  the  Appalachian  Moun 
tains  and  the  Mississippi,  was  crown  land,  and  might  be  granted  to 
individuals  or  companies  at  discretion. 

70  :  25.  Back  settlements.  The  frontier,  often  referred  to  as 
the  "  back  country." 

71:6.  Hordes  of  English  Tartars.  An  allusion  to  the  invasion 
of  Europe  by  the  Goths  and  Huns  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries. 

BURKE  ON  CONCILIATION  —  1C 


146  Notes 


71  :  9.  Collectors.  Of  customs  rather  than  of  taxes,  the  latter 
being  chosen  by  the  people. 

71  :  10.  Slaves.  Minor  officials,  whose  continuance  in  office,  in 
the  then  corrupt  state  of  politics,  depended  on  slavish  obedience  to 
those  above  them. 

71  :  13.     Increase  and  multiply.     Compare  Genesis  ix.  i. 

71  :  1 6.  Express  charter.  Compare  Psalm  cxv.  16.  Grants 
of  land  were  set  forth  in  written  documents  known  as  charters  or 
patents. 

71  :  22.  Wax  and  parchment.  "The  observance  of  legal 
forms  and  modes  of  procedure." 

71  :  22.    Thrown  each  tract  .  .  .  into  districts.    Indicated  its 
boundaries  and  extended  government  over  it. 

72  :  4.    A  system  of  this  kind.     The  Navigation  Acts  or  Acts 
of  Trade. 

72  :  25.     Spoliatis  arma,  etc.     Arms  still  remain  to  the  plun 
dered. 

73  :  5.    Your  speech  would  betray  you.    See  Matthew  xxvi.  73. 

73  :  1 6.     Burn  their  books.     See  Acts  xix.  19. 

74  :  i.     Advocates  and  panegyrists.     Dr.  Johnson,  in    Taxa 
tion  no  Tyranny,  lately  published,  had  commended  it. 

74  :  2.     Into  any  opinion  of  it.     Into  thinking  well  of  it. 

74  :  4.  Would  not  always  be  accepted.  Governor  Dunmore 
tried  it  in  Virginia  in  November,  1775,  when  freedom  was  prom 
ised  to  all  negro  slaves  and  indented  servants  who  should  join  his 
force  ;  but  few  responded.  See  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United 
States,  viii.  223-225. 

74  :  17.  That  very  nation  which  has  sold  them.  England 
was  at  this  time  the  principal  slave-trading  nation,  and  a  large 
amount  of  capital  was  invested  in  the  trade. 

74  :  19.  Refusal.  The  second  article  of  the  Association  read  : 
"We  will  neither  import  nor  purchase  any  slave  imported  after  the 
first  day  of  December  next  [1774]  ;  after  which  time  we  will  wholly 
discontinue  the  slave  trade,  and  will  neither  be  concerned  in  it 


Notes  147 

ourselves,  nor  will  we  hire  our  vessels  nor  sell  our  commodities  or 
manufactures  to  those  who  are  concerned  in  it."  There  had  al 
ways  been  a  strong  opposition  in  America  to  the  slave  trade, 
but  Great  Britain  forced  slaves  on  the  colonies  notwithstanding. 
Up  to  this  time  more  than  thirty  acts  of  the  Virginia  Assembly 
imposing  restrictions  on  the  trade  had  been  set  aside  by  the  king 
in  council. 

74  :  22.  An  African  vessel.  An  English  or  colonial  vessel 
from  Africa. 

74  :  23.  Carolina.  North  and  South  Carolina  were  separate 
colonies,  but  the  old  name  of  Carolina  was  still  often  applied  to 
them. 

74  :  24.  Angola.  A  district  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa  from 
which  large  numbers  of  slaves  were  shipped. 

74  :  25.     Guinea  captain.     An  English  captain  of  a  ship  trad 
ing  with  Guinea. 

75  :  3.     "  Ye  gods."     From  Martinus  Scriblerus,  or  the  Art  of 
Sinking  in  Poetry,  the  joint  work  of  Pope,  Swift,  and  Arbuthnot, 
chiefly   the    latter.     See    Pope,     Works    (Edition   1753),  vi,   165- 
223. 

75  :  14.  Prosecute  ...  as  criminal.  The  notion  of  treat 
ing  the  colonists  as  criminals  had  frequently  been  brought  forward 
in  the  debates. 

75  :  21.     Bands  of  men.     Such  as  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  and  the 
organized    mobs  which  had  compelled    the  resignation  of  judges 
and  other  officers. 

76  :  2.     Sir  Edward   Coke.     An  eminent  lawyer,    1552-1634. 
At  the  trial  of  Ralegh  for  treason,  in  1603,  Coke  denounced  the 
prisoner  in  a  most  scandalous  manner.     "  The  confidentist    traitor 
that  ever  came  at  a  bar,"  "  the  most  vile  and  execrable  traitor  that 
ever  lived,"  "  thy  vituperous  treasons,"  were  some  of  the  expressions 
used. 

76  :  6.  Upon  the  very  same  title  that  I  am.  Elected  by 
popular  vote  as  I  am. 


148  Notes 

76  :  24.     Ex  vi  termini,  from  the  force  of  the  term. 

78  :  14.     Those  very  persons.     The  majority  in  Parliament. 

78  :  1 6.  Declaring  a  rebellion.  The  address  to  the  king, 
Feb.  9,  1775,  had  asserted  "that  a  part  of  your  Majesty's  subjects 
in  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  have  proceeded  so  far  to 
resist  the  authority  of  the  supreme  Legislature  that  a  rebellion  at 
this  time  actually  exists  within  the  said  Province."  Eighteen 
Lords  entered  a  protest  against  the  address.  The  protest,  proba 
bly  drawn  up  by  Burke,  declared  that  "  no  legal  grounds  were  laid 
in  argument  or  in  fact  to  show  that  a  rebellion,  properly  so  called,  did 
exist  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  when  the  papers  of  the  latest  date,  and 
from  whence  alone  we  derive  our  information,  were  written.  The 
overt  acts  to  which  the  species  of  treason,  affirmed  in  the  address, 
ought  to  be  applied,  were  not  established,  nor  any  offenders  marked 
out.  But  a  general  mass  of  the  acts  of  turbulence,  said  to  be  done 
at  various  times  and  places,  and  of  various  natures,  were  all  thrown 
together  to  make  out  one  general  constructive  treason.  Neither  was 
there  any  sort  of  proof  of  the  continuance  of  any  unlawful  force 
from  whence  we  could  infer  that  a  rebellion  does  now  exist.  And 
we  are  the  more  cautious  of  pronouncing  any  part  of  his  Majesty's 
dominions  to  be  in  actual  rebellion,  because  the  cases  of  construc 
tive  treason  under  that  branch  of  the  25th  of  Edward  the  3rd,  which 
describes  the  crime  of  rebellion,  have  been  already  so  far  extended 
by  the  judges,  and  the  distinctions  thereupon  so  nice  and  subtle, 
that  no  prudent  man  ought  to  declare  any  single  person  in  that 
situation,  without  the  clearest  evidence  of  uncontrovertible  overt 
acts,  to  warrant  such  a  declaration.  Much  less  ought  so  high  an 
authority  as  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  to  denounce  so  severe  a 
judgement  against  a  considerable  part  of  his  Majesty's  subjects,  by 
which  his  forces  may  think  themselves  justified  in  commencing  a 
war,  without  any  further  order  or  commission  "  {Parliamentary 
History,  xviii,  294,  295). 

78  :  17.  Formerly  addressed.  In  February,  1769,  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament  had  presented  an  address  to  the  king  urging 


Notes  149 


that  Governor  Bernard  be  directed  "to  take  the  most  effectual 
methods  "  for  apprehending  the  persons  responsible  for  the  recent 
disorders  in  Massachusetts,  "  with  a  view  to  sending  them  to  Eng 
land  for  trial,  under  a  statute  passed  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII 
for  the  trial  of  treasons  committed  out  of  the  kingdom."  Burke 
discussed  the  proposal  in  his  Letter  to  the  Sheriffs  of  Bristol,  1777. 
79  :  4.  Penal  laws.  Burke  enumerates  them  in  one  of  his 
resolutions,  pp.  106,  107. 

79  :  24.     The  colonies  complain.     See  the   Declaration   and 
Resolves  ot  \hz  First  Continental  Congress,  Oct.  14,  1774  (MacDon- 
ald,  Select  Charters,  356-361).     The    fourth   resolution   declared: 
"That  the  foundation  of  English  liberty,  and  all  free  government, 
is  a  right  in  the  people  to  participate  in  their  legislative  council  : 
and  as  the  English  colonists  are  not  represented,  and  from  their 
local  and  other  circumstances,  cannot  properly  be  represented,  in 
the  British  Parliament,  they  are  entitled  to  a  free  and  exclusive 
power  of  legislation  in  their  several  provincial  legislatures,  where 
their  right  of  representation  can  alone  be  preserved,  in  all  cases  of 
taxation  and  internal  polity,  subject  only  to  the  negative  of  their 
sovereign,  in  such  manner  as  has  been  heretofore  used  and  accus 
tomed." 

80  :  12.     Profound   learning.     The   question   of  the   right  of 
Parliament  to  tax  the  colonies  had  been  for  more  than  ten  years 
the  subject  of  earnest  and  learned  discussion  in  both  England  and 
America.     For   a  summary  by   Burke   of  the   arguments,   see   the 
Annual  Register,  1766,  pp.  37-44. 

8 1  :   i.     Serbonian  bog.     From  Paradise  Lost,  ii.  592-594. 

81  :   22.     Unity  of  spirit.      See  /   Corinthians  xii.  4 ;   Ephe- 
sians  iv.  3. 

82  :  27.     American  financiers.     Men  interested  in  taxing  the 
colonies  merely  for  the  sake  of  revenue. 

83  :  6.     Further  views.     It    had    been   frequently  urged  that, 
if  the  assertion  of  the  taxing  power  were  given  up,  the  colonies 
would  be  encouraged  to  demand  further  concessions. 


150  Notes 

83  :  7»     Trade  laws.     Navigation  Acts. 

83  :  ii.  A  gentleman  of  real  moderation.  George  Rice 
(1742-1779),  in  a  speech,  April  19,  1774,  on  the  repeal  of  the  tea 
duty. 

83  :  22.     Futile  and  useless.     The  enforcement  of  the  Acts  of 
Trade  as  a  whole  had  in  fact  been  very  lax,  and  in  consequence  the 
interference    with    the    natural    growth    of  colonial  trade  had  not 
been  great. 

84  :  17.     The  pamphlet.     By  Dean  Tucker. 

84  :  27.     True  ground  of  the  quarrel.     The  primary  objection 
of  the   colonies  was   to  taxation,   not   to  the   regulation   of  their 
trade. 

85  :  8.     Not  a  shadow  of  evidence.     The  statement  is,  in  a  way, 
too  strong.     There  had  been  occasional  protests  against  the  Acts 
of  Trade.     The  systematic  evasion,  however,  of  such  acts  as  bore 
heavily  on  American  trade  made  the  protests  of  little  general  im 
portance. 

85  :  25.     Will  go  further.     Will  demand  further  concessions. 

86  :  24.     Austrian  family.     Charles  I  of  Spain,  grandson  of  the 
Emperor  Maximilian,    became   the   Emperor   Charles   V    in     1519. 
The  dynasty  ended  with  the  death  of  Charles  II,  in  1700. 

86  :  27.    Philip  the  Second,  1527-1598. 

87  :  i.     Not  chosen  the  most  perfect  standard.     "  He  (Philip) 
lived  to  see  the  vast  strength  which  fell  to  him  as  a  legacy  slip  out 
of  his  hands,  and  to  see  Spain  sink  to  a  condition  of  comparative 
weakness  "  (Fisher). 

87  :  9.     English  conquest.     By  Henry  II,  in  1172. 

87  :  10.  No  Parliament.  The  Irish  were  divided  into  tribes 
or  clans,  with  a  chief  at  the  head  of  each, 

87  :  14.  Such  as  England  then  enjoyed.  The  Great  Council 
of  barons  and  representatives  of  the  church.  Representatives  from 
cities  and  boroughs  were  first  summoned  to  Parliament  in  1265. 

87  :  21.  Magna  Charta.  The  Great  Charter  extorted  from 
John  in 


Notes  1 5 1 

87  :  27.     Not  at  first  extended.     It  was  not  until  1494,  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VII,  that  "it  was  enacted  that  all  English  laws  in 
force  at  that  time  should  be  obeyed  in  Ireland  "  (Gardiner,  Stu 
dents'  History  of  England,  351). 

88  :  2.     Your  privileges.     The  privileges  of  the  English  Pale  — 
the  region  about  Dublin  to  which  English  authority  was  for  many 
years  restricted. 

88  :  2.  Sir  John  Davies.  1569-1626.  He  published  in  1612 
the  Discovery  of  the  true  Causes  why  Ireland  was  never  entirely 
Subdued  nor  brought  under  Obedience  of  the  Crown  of  England 
until  the  Beginning  of  his  Majesty's  happy  Reign. 

88  :  5.  Military  government.  The  Earl  of  Essex  and  Lord 
Mountjoy  had  been  sent  to  Ireland  in  1599  and  1600  to  put  down 
rebellion. 

88  :  20.  Glorious  Revolution.  The  English  Revolution  of  1688. 
"  Glorious  "  because  a  victory  for  Whig  principles,  in  which  Burke 
believed. 

88  :  21.     This  has  made  Ireland,  etc.    The  picture  is  over 
drawn.     The  treatment  of  Ireland  by  England  had  for  centuries 
been  discreditable,  and  the  relations  between  the  two  countries 
were  almost  always  strained,  but  Ireland  could  hardly  be  called  a 
"  great  and  flourishing  kingdom  "  at  this  time. 

89  :  8.     Irish  pensioners.     Pensioners,  many  of  them  English 
men,  paid  out  of  the  revenue  from  Ireland.     Lecky  characterizes 
the  system  at  this  time  as  "  scandalous." 

89  :  15.  Henry  the  Third.  There  was  intermittent  war  be 
tween  England  and  Wales  throughout  the  first  half  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  After  the  defeat  and  death  of  Simon  de  Montfort  at  Eves- 
ham,  in  1265,  Llewellyn,  Prince  of  Wales,  who  had  joined  Earl  Simon 
against  Henry  III,  submitted  and  did  homage. 

89  :  1 6.  Edward  the  First.  War  was  renewed  in  1277,  and 
resulted  in  the  conquest  of  the  country  by  the  English.  The  Stat 
ute  of  \Vales,  a  body  of  laws  established  in  1284,  provided  for  the 
government  of  the  country. 


152  Notes 


89  :  17.  Not  looked  upon.  The  union  of  Wales  and  England 
was  not  completed  until  1536. 

89  :  21.     Lords    Marchers.     Lords  of  the   marches,  or  border 
territories,  to  whom  had    been   given    authority  to    conquer   and 
govern  so  much  of  the  country  as  they  were  able.     Around  the 
castles  of  the  marchers  the  towns  of  Wales  grew  up.     The  system 
was  not  established  by  Edward  I,  but  had  been  in  existence  since 
1090,  in  the  reign  of  William  II.     After  the  conquest  of  Wales,  in 
1284,  no  more  marches  were  created. 

90  :  10.     Prohibit  by  proclamation.     The  consuls  and  agents  of 
England  in  Europe  had  been  specially  charged  to  prevent,  if  pos 
sible,  the  shipment  of  arms  and  military  supplies  to  the  colonies. 

90:14.  Disarm  New  England.  Gage  had  made  several  seizures 
of  powder  and  stores  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston.  A  letter  reporting 
his  action  had  been  laid  before  the  House,  January  19,  1775. 

go  :  17.     With  more  hardship.    Because  of  the  greater  distance. 

91  :  14.    Twenty-seventh  year.     1535-1536.     English  statutes 
are  designated  as  the  statutes  of  such  and  such  a  year  of  the  sover 
eign.     Each  statute  is  called  a  chapter.     The  act  referred  to  here 
would  be  cited  as  27  Henry  VIII,  chapter  26. 

91  :  29.     Day-star.     Compare  2  Peter  i.  19. 

92  :  3.     Simul  alba,  etc. 

"  When  mariners  their  white  star  see, — 
Drops  from  the  rocks  the  refluent  spray, 
The  clouds  disperse,  the  winds  subside, 
While  threatening  waves  their  will  obey 
And  slumber  on  the  tranquil  tide." 

—  Horace,  Odes,  i.  12  (Sargent's  translation). 

92  :  9.  County  Palatine.  Latin  palatiuni,  a  palace.  A  county 
palatine  was  one  whose  head  had  virtually  the  powers  of  an 
independent  sovereign.  Chester  was  granted  by  William  I,  being 
designed  to  serve  as  a  barrier  against  the  Welsh.  Like  the  other 
palatine  counties,  it  had  its  own  parliament  and  system  of  courts. 
The  eldest  son  of  the  sovereign  is  still  given  the  title  of  Earl  of 


Notes  153 

Chester.     The  county  was  given  representation  in  Parliament  in 

92  :  14.    Richard  the  Second.     1377-1399. 

93  :  6.     Knight  ne  burgess.     The  former  represented  counties 
or  shires,  and  the  latter  boroughs  or  towns,  in  Parliament. 

93  :  8.  Touched  and  grieved.  Affected  to  their  disadvantage 
or  injury. 

93  :  14.  Libel.  Perhaps  referring  to  Gage's  rejection,  in  June, 
1774,  of  an  address  from  the  council  of  Massachusetts  reflecting  on 
the  conduct  of  two  of  his  predecessors.  Gage  characterized  the 
address  as  a  "  libel,"  an  "  insult "  to  the  king,  and  an  "  affront  "  to 
himself. 

93  :  28.    Charles  the  Second.     1660-1685. 

93  :  29.     Durham.     Durham  was  given  representation  in  Parlia 
ment  in  1675,  but  remained  a  palatine  county  under  a  bishop  until 
1836. 

94  :  18.     Judge  Barrington.     Daines  Barrington  (1727-1800). 
He  was   appointed  justice  of  the   Welsh  counties  of   Merioneth, 
Carnarvon,  and  Anglesey  in  1757. 

95  :  15.     Opposuit  natura,  nature  opposed.     Juvenal,  Satires  x, 
152. 

95  :  17.  I  do  not  know  to  be  possible.  The  Resolutions  of 
the  Stamp  Act  Congress  and  the  Declaration  and  Resolves  of  the 
First  Continental  Congress  had  both  declared  such  representation 
to  be  impracticable. 

95  :  20.  Those  .  .  .  more  confident.  Franklin  seems  to  have 
thought  it  feasible  in  1754.  In  1769  he  still  thought  it  "by  no 
means  impracticable,"  but  confessed  that  the  time  for  such  a  sug 
gestion  had  passed,  and  that  the  colonies  were  indifferent  to  it. 

95  :  21.     Arm  ...  is  not  shortened.     Compare  Isaiah  lix.  i. 

96  :  4.    Republic  .  .  .  Utopia  .  .  .  Oceana.    Three  works  out 
lining  the  constitution  and  government  of  an  imaginary  republic. 
The  Republic,  in  form  an  elaborate  dialogue,  is  one  of  the  best 
known  works  of  Plato  (428-347  B.C.)     Sir  Thomas  More  (1478- 


1 54  Notes 

1535)  published  his  Utopia  in  1516.  The  Oceana  of  James 
Harrington  (1611-1677)  appeared  in  1656.  On  More's  work  see 
Kaufman,  Utopias,  chap.  I.  % 

96  :  7.  Rude  swain.  From  Milton,  Comus,  634,  635,  but  in 
accurately  quoted. 

96  :  8.  Clouted  shoon.  Shoes  with  clout  nails,  i.e.  short  nails 
with  large  heads. 

96  :  17.  Grant.  A  voluntary  contribution,  in  this  case  voted  by 
a  colonial  assembly. 

96:18.     Imposition.     A  tax  imposed  by  Parliament. 

96  :  20.     Aids.     In  the  sense  of  additional  grants. 

97  :  3.     Temple  of  British  concord.    An  allusion  to  the  Temple 
of  Concord  at  Rome. 

97  :  17.  Fourteen  .  .  .  governments.  Besides  the  thirteen  con 
tinental  colonies  which  were  soon  to  revolt,  Burke  may  have  had 
specially  in  mind  Quebec,  acquired  from  France  in  1763.  Nova 
Scotia  also  had  a  government  like  that  of  the  other  colonies. 

97  :  23.  Description.  The  parties  named  —  in  this  case  the 
colonies  and  plantations  —  as  distinct  from  the  facts  alleged. 

97  :  28.     Given  and  granted.    Supplies  voted  by  Parliament  are 
conceived  of  as  granted  to  the  Crown,  as  was  long  the  case  in 
fact. 

98  :  14.     Non  meus.      Misquoted  from  Horace,  Satires,  \\.  2,  2-3. 
"  Nor  is  it  I  that  speak,  but  Ofellus,  that  plain,  simple  sage,  wise 
without  precepts."     (Patrick's  translation,  ii.  112.) 

98  :  20.     Touch  with  a  tool.     Compare  Exodus  xx.  25. 
98  :  28.     Wise  beyond  what  was  written.     Compare  /  Corin 
thians  iv.  6. 

98  :  29.     Form  of  sound  words.     Compare  2  Timothy  i.  13. 

99  :  28.     Sixth  of  George  the  Second.     The  so-called  Molasses 
Act  of  1733,  imposing  practically  prohibitory  duties  on  rum,  sugar, 
and  molasses  imported  into  the  colonies.     The  important  sections 
of  the  act  are  in  MacDonald,  Select  Charters,  249-251. 

100  :  4.     Duties  of  1767.     The  Townshend  Revenue  Act. 


Notes  155 


ioo  :  5.  Lord  Hillsborough.  1718-1793.  He  was  secretary 
of  state  for  the  colonies  from  1768  to  1772.  The  reference  is  to  a 
circular  letter  to  the  governors,  May  13,  1769,  in  which  Hillsborough 
declared  "that  his  Majesty's  present  administration  have  at  no  time 
entertained  a  design  to  propose  to  Parliament  to  lay  any  further 
taxes  upon  America  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  ;  and  that 
it  is  at  present  their  intention  to  propose  the  next  session  of  Par 
liament  to  take  off  the  duties  upon  glass,  paper,  and  colours,  upon 
consideration  of  such  duties  having  been  laid  contrary  to  the  true 
principles  of  commerce." 

ioo  :  10.  The  resolution  of  the  noble  lord.  Lord  North's 
conciliatory  resolution. 

ioo  :  19.     On  the  paper.     In  the  text  of  the  resolution  itself. 

ioo  :  26.  Freemen.  Those  who  enjoy  all  the  rights  of  citizens. 
The  word  is  often  used  in  American  colonial  history  as  synonymous 
with  voters. 

100  :  26.     Freeholders.     Those  holding  land  to  which  they  have 
absolute  title.     A  property  qualification  for  voting  was  universal  in 
the  colonies. 

101  :  5.     Acts  of  supply.     Acts  for  raising  revenue. 

101  :  6.  Style.  Form  of  words,  usually  referring  to  the  title 
of  the  Act.  Article  I  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  reads  : 
"  The  style  of  this  confederacy  shall  be  '  The  United  States  of 
America.'  " 

101  :  7.  Aid.  An  aid  was  originally  a  free  grant  of  money  for 
some  particular  purpose,  and  the  idea  of  freedom  in  the  grant  con 
tinued  after  occasional  aids  had  given  place  to  regular  taxes. 
Burke  emphasizes  the  original  meaning  of  the  word. 

1 01  :  8.  Passed  the  public  offices.  Been  approved  by  the 
proper  officers. 

101  :  15.  Law  servants  of  the  crown.  Lord  Mansfield,  the 
chief  justice  and  a  supporter  of  the  Stamp  Act,  had  declared  in 
1766,  in  a  debate  in  the  Lords,  that  no  money  could  be  raised  by 
taxation  without  the  consent  of  Parliament. 


i56 


Notes 


1 01  :  1 6.  If  the  crown  could  be  responsible.  The  sovereign 
is  not  responsible  to  Parliament,  but  the  ministers  are.  The  for 
mer,  however,  is  bound  to  act  in  accordance  with  the  advice  of  the 
latter  in  all  save  foreign  affairs. 

101  :  20.  Impeachable  offences.  Impeachment  is  a  method  of 
trying  and  punishing  persons  for  political  offenses.  The  charges 
are  preferred  by  the  House  of  Commons,  and  the  case  is  tried 
before  the  House  of  Lords. 

101  :  21.  Council.  The  Privy  Council,  formerly  a  body  of  ad 
visers  to  the  Crown,  but  now  a  formal  body  which  "  meets  for  the 
purpose  of  making  orders,  issuing  proclamations,  or  attending  at 
formal  acts  of  State."  Cabinet  ministers  are  members  of  the  Council. 

101  :  22.  Secretaries  of  state.  There  were  at  this  time  three 
such  officials,  one  being  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies. 

101  :  22.  Lords  of  trade.  The  usual  short  designation  of  the 
Lords  of  the  Committee  of  Trade  and  Plantations,  a  committee  of 
the  Privy  Council  to  whom  the  oversight  of  colonial  affairs  and 
trade  was  intrusted.  The  committee  became  the  Board  of  Trade 
in  1786.  See  Hart,  Contemporaries,  ii,  129-131. 

101  :  22.    Attorneys  and  all  solicitors-general.     The  first  is 
the  chief  legal  adviser  of  the  government.     The  second  is  a  legal 
official  associated  with  the  attorney-general. 

102  :  9.     Great  expenses.     Franklin,  in  his  examination  before 
the  House  of  Commons,  in  January,   1766,  said:   "The  colonies 
raised,  clothed,  and  paid,  during  the  last  war,  near  25,000  men,  and 
spent  many  millions.  .  .  .     We  were  only  reimbursed  what,  in  your 
opinion,  we  had  advanced  beyond  our  proportion,  or  beyond  what 
might  reasonably  be  expected  from  us;   and  it  was  a  very  small  part 
of  what  we  spent."     Works  (Sparks's  edition),  iv,  167. 

102  :  1 1.  1695.  The  date  seems  to  have  no  special  significance. 
The  first  of  the  four  wars  between  the  French  and  English  colonies 
was  then  going  on. 

102  :  12.  1710.  The  year  in  which  Port  Royal  was  taken  by  an 
Fnglish  force  composed  in  part  of  New  England  men. 


Notes  157 

102  :  13.  Journals.  Of  Parliament.  The  journal  is  the  legal 
record  of  proceedings. 

102  :  1 6.  1748.  The  date  of  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
closing  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  —  the  war  known  in 
America  as  King  George's  War. 

102  :  22.     Cape  Breton.     Taken  by  the  English  during  the  war, 
but  restored  to  France  by  the  treaty  of  peace. 

103  :  25.     Legally.    An  allusion  to  the  extreme  view  .that  money 
for  the  Crown  could  be  raised  only  by  authority  of  Parliament,  and 
could  not  be  granted  by  the  colonies  even  as  a  free  gift  without 
permission. 

104  :  8.     Miserable  stories.    Many  false  and  exaggerated  reports 
of  what  had  taken  place  in  America,  and  of  the  refusal  of  the  colo 
nies  to  bear  any  part  of  the  expense  incurred  in  their  defense,  were 
current  in  England. 

104  :  13.     Paid  no  taxes.     A  common  argument. 

104  :  16.  Mr.  Grenville.  George  Grenville  (1712-1770). 
He  was  prime  minister  from  1763  to  1765. 

104  :  23.  Funds  given  for  sinking  the  debt.  The  taxes 
raised  by  the  several  colonies  for  the  payment  of  their  debts. 

106  :  21.  An  act  for  granting  certain  duties,  etc.  The  Town- 
shend  Revenue  Act.  The  duties  imposed  by  this  act,  except  the 
duty  on  tea,  had  already  been  repealed  by  an  act  of  1770. 

106  :  23.     Drawback.     A  rebate,  in  whole  or  in  part,   of  the 
import  duties  paid  on  articles  subsequently  exported. 

107  :  i.    An  act  to  discontinue,  etc.    The  Boston  Port  Act, 

J774- 
107  :  7.    An  act  for  the  impartial  administration  of  justice, 

etc.     The  Administration  of  Justice  Act,  1774. 

107  :  12.  An  act  for  the  better  regulating,  etc.  The  Massa 
chusetts  Government  Act,  1774. 

107  :  20.  During  the  king's  pleasure.  Section  viii  of  the 
act  provided  "  that  whenever  it  shall  be  made  to  appear  to  his 
majesty,  in  his  privy  council,  that  peace  and  obedience  to  the  laws 


158  Notes 

shall  be  so  far  restored  in  the  said  town  of  Boston  that  the  trade  of 
Great  Britain  may  safely  be  carried  on  there,  and  his  Majesty's 
customs  duty  collected,  and  his  Majesty,  in  his  privy  council  shall 
adjudge  the  same  to  be  true,"  commerce  might  be  resumed. 

107  :  23.     Boston  was  not    heard.     Persons    or    corporations 
affected  by  proposed  legislation  are  usually  entitled  to  a  hearing, 
either   by   petition  or   through  representatives.     The  Boston  Port 
Act  was  rushed  through  Parliament,  being  introduced  March  14, 
1774,  and  receiving  the  royal  assent  March  31. 

108  :  4.     Crown  has  far  less  power.     The  charters  of  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut  were  the  most  liberal  of  all  the  colonial 
charters.      In    neither   case    did   the    Crown    reserve    any    direct 
authority  over  the  colony. 

108  :  6.  Abuses  have  been  full  as  great.  Massachusetts  was 
certainly  the  greater  offender,  but  resistance  and  violence  had 
characterized  proceedings  in  the  other  colonies  as  well. 

108  :  1 6.  At  his  pleasure.  The  statement  is  not  quite  accu 
rate.  The  act  vested  the  appointment  of  sheriffs  in  the  governor, 
without  the  consent  of  the  council,  but  the  consent  of  the  council 
was  necessary  to  their  removal. 

1 08  :  1 6.  Returning  officer.  The  sheriff,  who  under  the  act 
was  to  return  to  the  court  the  names  of  jurors.  Jurors  had  hitherto 
been  chosen  by  the  towns. 

108  :  21.  Temporary.  The  act  was  to  continue  in  force  for 
three  years  from  June  I,  1774. 

108  :  29.  Original  intention.  The  title  of  the  act  was :  "  An 
Act  concerning  the  Trial  of  Treasons  committed  out  of  the  King's 
Majesty's  Dominions." 

109 :  14.  Good  behaviour.  Until  the  outbreak  of  the  dispute 
with  ihe  mother  country,  the  higher  judicial  officers  in  the  colonies 
had  held  office  during  gooct  behaviour,  thus  being  made  independ 
ent  of  political  control.  In  December,  1761,  however,  the  colonial 
governors  had  been  instructed  "to  grant  no  judicial  commissions 
but  during  pleasure."  The  change  created  widespread  alarm  in 


Notes  159 

the  colonies.  The  Massachusetts  Circular  Letter  of  1 768  questioned, 
among  other  points,  "  Whether  any  people  can  be  said  to  enjoy  any 
degree  of  freedom  if  ...  while  the  judges  of  the  land,  and  other 
civil  officers,  hold  not  their  commissions  during  good  behaviour,  their 
having  salaries  appointed  for  them  by  the  Crown,  independent  of 
the  people,  hath  not  a  tendency  to  subvert  the  principles  of  equity, 
and  endanger  the  happiness  and  security  of  the  subject." 

109  :  20.  Courts  of  admiralty.  These  courts  had  jurisdiction 
of  maritime  cases,  including  smuggling,  and  as  they  sat  without  a 
jury,  subjection  to  their  authority  was  felt  by  the  colonists  to  be  an 
especial  grievance.  Offences  against  the  Stamp  Act  had  also  been 
placed  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  admiralty  courts  concurrently 
with  other  courts.  The  resolutions  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  pro 
tested  that  this  had  "  a  manifest  tendency  to  subvert  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  colonists." 

109  :  24.  More  commodious.  Held  at  more  convenient  or  ac 
cessible  places. 

109  :  26.  Decent  maintenance.  The  first  edition  of  the  speech 
has  the  following  footnote  :  "  The  solicitor-general  informed  Mr.  B., 
when  the  resolutions  were  separately  moved,  that  the  grievance  of 
the  judges  partaking  of  the  profits  of  the  seizure  had  been  redressed 
by  office  ;  accordingly  the  resolution  was  amended." 

no  :  8.  Congress  complain.  The  extension  of  the  jurisdiction 
3f  the  admiralty  courts  had  been  condemned  in  the  Declaration 
and  Resolves  of  the  First  Continental  Congress  as  "  subversive  of 
American  rights."  In  an  "Address  to  the  People  of  Great  Britain  " 
the  Congress  had  said  :  "  It  was  ordained  that  whenever  of 
fences  should  be  committed  in  the  colonies  against  particular  acts 
imposing  various  duties  and  restrictions  upon  trade,  the  prosecutor 
might  bring  his  action  for  the  penalties  in  the  courts  of  admiralty  ; 
by  which  means  the  subject  lost  the  advantage  of  being  tried  by  an 
honest,  uninfluenced  jury  of  the  vicinage,  and  was  subjected  to 
the  sad  necessity  of  being  judged  by  a  single  man,  a  creature  of  the 
crown,  and  according  to  the  course  of  a  law  which  exempts  the 


160  Notes 

prosecutor  from  the  trouble  of  proving  his  accusation,  and  obliges 
the  defendant  either  to  evince  his  innocence  or  to  suffer.  To  give 
this  new  judicatory  the  greater  importance,  and  as  if  with  design  to 
protect  false  accusers,  it  is  further  provided  that  the  judge's  certifi 
cate  of  there  having  been  probable  causes  of  seizure  and  prose 
cution  shall  protect  the  prosecutor  from  actions  at  common  law  for 
recovery  of  damages  "  {Journals  of  Congress,  i.  41). 

no  :  23.  Prove  too  much.  This  had  been  urged  in  the  House 
of  Lords  at  the  time  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 

in  :  5.  Disclaim  any  such  inference.  Burke,  it  should  be 
remembered,  always  defended  the  settlement  made  in  1766. 

in  :  9.  Moved  to  have  read.  In  a  speech  of  January  14, 
1766. 

111:10.  Lord  Chatham.  William  Pitt  (1708-1778),  first  Earl 
of  Chatham,  and  the  foremost  champion  of  the  American  cause  in 
Parliament. 

in  :  ii.  In  favor  of  his  opinions.  He  had  cited  the  cases  of 
Chester,  Durham,  and  Wales  in  a  speech  in  reply  to  Grenville. 

in  :  23.     De  jure  or  de  facto,  in  law  or  in  fact. 

112  :  i.     The  demand  of  immunity.     This  had  been  the  chief 
demand  of  the  colonies  up  to  this  time. 

112:  26.  The  immediate  jewel  of  his  soul.  C  >irpire  Othello, 
iii.  3.  155,  156. 

112:26.  Great  house.  Compare  Juvenal,  Satires,  v.  66 :"  Every 
great  house  is  full  of  haughty  slaves." 

113  :  12.     The  cords  of  man.     Compare  Hosea  xi.  4. 

/p  113:  14.  Aristotle  .  .  .  cautions  us.  "  In  pursuing  this  study 
f  [ethics],  we  shall  have  done  enough  if  we  attain  such  precision  as 
the.  subject  permits  of.  For  it  is  a  mistake  to  look  for  the  same  ex 
actness  in  all  kinds  of  reasoning,  just  as  it  would  be  in  all  kinds 
of  manufacture.  .  .  .  We  must  be  satisfied,  therefore,  in  reason 
ing  upon  these  subjects,  to  give  only  a  rough  sketch  of  the  truth, 
and  when  our  premises  are  not  universal  laws  but  statements 
of  what  generally  or  probably  occurs,  to  draw  only  probable  con- 


Notes  161 

elusions.  In  the  same  spirit  the  reader  must  accept  all  that  is  here 
stated,  for  no  one  who  pretends  to  education  will  look  for  more 
exactness  in  the  treatment  of  any  subject  than  the  nature  of  the 
subject  admits  of.  To  ask  mathematical  demonstrations  from  an 
orator  is  as  absurd  as  to  accept  probable  reasoning  from  a  mathe 
matician  "  (Aristotle,  Nicomachean  Ethics,  Bk.  i,  chap,  iii,  Muir- 
head's  translation). 

115  :  9.  The  committee.  The  House  sitting  as  a  Committee 
of  the  Whole,  February  20. 

115  :  15.  Experimentum,  etc.  Let  the  experiment  be  made 
on  something  worthless. 

115  :  21.  Taxing  .  .  .  in  the  antechamber.  Taxing  by  deci 
sion  of  the  cabinet  instead  of  by  vote  of  Parliament.  The  paragraph 
that  follows  is  a  keen  exposition  of  the  way  in  which  Lord  North's 
plan  of  conciliation  might  very  possibly  work. 

117  :  9.  General  powers.  The  colonial  agents  acted  under  in 
structions  from  the  assemblies. 

117  :  1 6.  What  is  the  condition.  The  report  of  Congress  on 
Lord  North's  proposition,  July  31,  1775,  says:  "We  are  of  the 
opinion  that  the  proposition  contained  in  this  resolution  is  unrea 
sonable  and  insidious:  unreasonable,  because,  if  we  declare  we 
accede  to  it,  we  declare,  without  reservation,  we  will  purchase  the 
favour  of  parliament,  not  knowing  at  the  same  time  at  what  price 
they  will  please  to  estimate  their  favour;  it  is  insidious,  because 
individual  colonies,  having  bid  and  bidden  again  till  they  find  the 
avidity  of  the  seller  too  great  for  all  their  powers  to  satisfy,  are 
then  to  return  into  opposition,  divided  from  their  sister  colonies, 
whom  the  minister  will  have  previously  detached  by  a  grant  of 
easier  terms,  or  by  an  artful  procrastination  of  a  definitive  answer." 
The  whole  report  should  be  read  in  connection  with  this  portion  of 
the  address.  The  report  is  in  MacDonald,  Select  Charters,  385-389. 

117  :  26.  Perfectly  convinced.  Since  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act  there  had  been  no  serious  thought  of  taxing  the  colonies  save 
by  the  imposition  of  customs  duties. 

BURKE  ON  CONCILIATION 1 1 


1 62  Notes 

118  :  6.  English  revenue.  England  derived  a  large  revenue 
from  the  import  duties  on  tobacco,  and  the  trade  in  this  commodity 
had  been  the  subject  of  repeated  regulation  by  Parliament. 

118  :  19.     Confound  the  innocent  with  the  guilty.    The  argu 
ment  had  been  advanced  in  debate.     The  active  resistance  of  the 
colonies  was  still  the  work  of  a  minority. 

119  :  I.     Quota.     The  amount  apportioned  to  each  colony. 

119  :  14.  Empire  of  Germany.  Not  to  be  confounded  with 
the  kingdom  of  Prussia. 

119  :  24.     Not  be  to  their  taste.     In  introducing  his  concilia 
tory  resolution,  Lord  North  had  said  that  "  it  is  very  probable  the 
propositions  contained  in  this  resolution  may  not  be  acceptable  to 
the  Americans  in  general." 

120  :  15.     Long  discourse.     The  speech  occupied  three  hours 
in  delivery. 

120  :  22.     Mean  to  spare  it.     "Before  the  year  1775  closed, 
Burke  must  have  spoken  at  least  a  dozen  times  more  on  America ; 
and  on  November  1 6  he  offered  another  bill  for  conciliating  the 
colonies"  (Lamont). 

121  :  ii.     Posita  luditur  area,  the  chest  (i.e.  the  public  revenue) 
is  put  at  stake.     From  Juvenal,  Satires,  i.  90. 

121  :  15.     Debt.     Cited  as  proof  of  the  financial  strength  of  the 
kingdom. 

122:22.  Ease  would  retract.  Misquoted  iwm.  Paradise  Lost, 
iv.  96,  97. 

122  :  26.    The  immense,  ever-growing,  eternal  debt.     Com 
pare  Paradise  Lost,  iv.  53. 

123  :  ii.     Bengal.     "An  arrangement  was,  in  1769,  made  be 
tween  the  Administration  and   the    East    India  Directors.      The 
Company  were  to  hold  the  territorial  revenues  of  India  for  five 
years,  they  paying  ,£400,000  annually  into  the  Exchequer.     But  in 
1770  the  resources  of  India  materially  failed.     There  was  a  terrible 
famine  in  Bengal,  in  which  it  is  supposed  that  one  third  of  the 
inhabitants  perished.     In  1772  the  Company  declared  a  deficiency 


Notes  163 

of  above  a  million  ;  obtained  loans  from  the  Bank  of  England  to  a 
large  amount ;  and  at  last  went  to  Parliament  for  aid.  ...  In  1773 
an  act  was  passed  by  which  ,£1,400,000  was  lent  to  the  Company ; 
the  payment  of  ,£400,000  per  annum  was  postponed  ;  and  the  divi 
dend  of  the  proprietors  was  restricted  to  6  per  cent,  until  the  loan 
should  be  repaid"  (Knight,  History  of  England,  vi.  334). 

123  :  1 8.  Foreign  sale.  Sale  in  foreign  countries.  Under  the 
Navigation  Acts  colonial  trade  with  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  had 
been  compelled  to  pass  through  England. 


123 
124 
124 
124 
124 
124 
125 
125 


26.  Enemies.     France  and  Spain. 

6.  Light  as  air.     Compare  Othello,  iii.  3.  322-324. 

7.  Links  of  iron.     Compare  Jiilius  Ccesar,  i.  3.  94,  95. 

9.  Grapple.     Compare  Hamlet,  i.  3.  63. 

19,,    Turn  their  faces.     See  /  Kings  viii.  44,  45. 

27.  Commodity  of  price.     Compare  Matthew  xiii.  46. 

10.  Letters  of  office.     Official  letters. 

10.     Instructions.     Governors  and  other  crown  officials  In 


the  colonies  were  constantly  in  receipt  of  instructions  from  the 
Lords  of  Trade  or  the  Secretary  of  State. 

125  :  ii.  Suspending  clauses.  Clauses  or  sections  in  statutes 
authorizing  the  suspension  of  the  act,  in  whole  or  in  part,  under 
certain  circumstances. 

125  :  22.  Land  Tax  Act.  The  land  tax  was  one  of  the  most 
important  sources  of  revenue  in  England.  The  reduction  of  the 
tax  fronts,  to  35.  in  the  pound,  in  1766,  created  a  deficiency  in  the 
revenue  which  the  Townshend  Revenue  Act  aimed  to  make  good 
in  part. 

125  :  23.  Annual  vote.  Appropriations  for  the  support  of  the 
army  are  made  annually. 

125  :  24.      Mutiny  Bill.     An  act,  also  passed  annually,  provid 
ing  for  the  maintenance  of  discipline  by  military  law. 

126  :  4.     Profane  herd.      Compare  Horace,  Odes,  iii.  i.  i:  "I 
hate  and  banish  hence  the  crowd  profane  "  (Sargent's  translation, 


164  Notes 

126  :  13.     All  in  all.     Compare  /  Corinthians  xv.  28. 

126  :  17.  Auspicate.  Seek  favour  for  in  beginning.  A  refer 
ence  to  the  Roman  auspices. 

126  :  19.  Sursum  corda.  Lift  up  your  hearts.  A  phrase  used 
in  the  mass,  and  in  the  communion  service  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
(and,  as  the  priest  proceeds  to  the  consecration  of  the  elements. 

126  :  22.     High  calling.     Compare  Philippians  iii.  14. 

127  :  3.     Quod  felix,  etc.     May  it  be  happy  and  prosperous  ! 
127  :  12.     Previous  question.     A  formal  motion,  not  debatable, 

used  to  end  debate  and  bring  about  an  immediate  vote.     The  prac 
tice  is  often  referred  to  as  the  closure. 


ANALYSIS   OF   BURKE'S   SPEECH 
BY  T.    WARRINGTON   GOSLING 

HUGHES  HIGH  SCHOOL,  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 

EXORDIUM 

I.  By  the  return  of  the  grand  penal  bill  from  the  House  of  Lords 
we  are  called  upon  to  review  American  affairs.     Page  38,  line  7th. 

II.  The  subject  deserves  careful  deliberation.     38,  8. 

III.  My  former  opinions  upon  the  subject  have  not  changed,  39, 
4;   but  Parliament  has  changed  its  policy  often,  and  has  kept  the 
state  of  America  in  continual  agitation.     39,  16. 

IV.  I  address  you  upon  the  subject  for  the  following  reasons :  — 

A.  The  friends  of  America  must  formulate  some  definite  plan, 
in  order  that  they  may  not  be  under  the  imputation  of  pre 
determined  discontent.     40,  n. 

B.  I  feel  my  own  unfitness  to  lead  in  this  matter,  40,  26,  but 
realizing  the  need  of  the  hour,  I  subordinate  this  sense  of 
unfitness  to  my  sense  of  duty.     41,  17. 

C.  I  have  a  reasonable  proposition  to  submit,  and  I  believe 
you  will  not  reject  a  reasonable  proposition  merely  because 
it  has  nothing  but  its  reason  to  recommend  it.     42,  6. 

STATUS 

I.  My  proposition  is  to  secure  peace  by  removing  the  grounds 
of  difference  between  England  and  America.     42,  14. 

II.  My  proposition,  a  simple  one  and  therein  opposed  to  the 
"  refined  policy  "  of  Lord  North,  is  yet  in  general  accord  with  Lord 
North's  proposition,  43,  25,  inasmuch  as, 

Copyright,  1909,  by  AMERICAN  BOOK  COMPANY. 
165 


ib6  Analysis 

A.  The  House  of  Commons,  in  accepting  the  resolution  moved 
by  Lord  North,  has  acknowledged  that  the  idea  of  concili- 
ation  is  admissible.     43,  27. 

B.  The  House  of  Commons,  in  accepting  Lord  North's  resolu 
tion,  has  declared  further  that  conciliation  is  admissible, 
previous  to  any  submission  on  the  part  of  America.     44,  7. 

C.  The  House  of  Commons  has  declared  also  that  complaints 
about  our  former  method  of  exerting  the  right  of  taxation 
were  not  wholly  unfounded.     44,  10. 

III.  Where  conciliation  is  to  be  effected,  one  party  or  the  other 
must  make  some  concession,  and  as  the  stronger  can  concede  with 
better  grace  than  the  weaker,  it  is  advisable  for  England  in  this 
case  to  make  the  concession.     45,  2. 

IV.  If  we  ought  to  concede,  the  next  question  is :  "  What  should 
our  concession  be  ?  "     45,  15.     In  order  to  determine  this,  we  must 
consider   the   peculiar   circumstances    of    the    case,    inasmuch   as 
America  can  not  be  ruled   according  to  abstract   ideas   of  right. 
45,  28. 

STATEMENT   OF  FACTS 

I.   The  following  facts  are  of  great  importance  in  all  our  discus 
sions  with  reference  to  America :  — 

A.  The  population  of  the  colonies,  about  2,500,000,  and  rap 
idly  increasing,  46,  10,  is  of  great  importance,  inasmuch  as, 

1.  No  narrow,  contracted  system  is  suitable  to  so  large 
a  mass  of  people.     47,  I. 

2.  We  can  not  trifle  long  with  the  interests  of  so  many 
people  without  danger  to  ourselves.     47,  13. 

B.  The   commerce  of  your   colonies  is  out  of   all  proportion 
beyond  the  numbers  of  the  people,  47,  19,  inasmuch  as, 

I.  The  export  trade  from  England  to  the  American  colo 
nies  has  increased  twelve-fold  from  1704  to  1772. 
49,  24.  A  particular  instance  of  this  increase  may 
be  seen  in  the  case  of  Pennsylvania,  inasmuch  as, 


Analysis  167 

a.  The  export  trade  from  England  to  Pennsylvania 
alone  was  almost  as  large  in  1772  as  the  export 
trade  to  all  the  colonies  in  1704.     53,  4. 
2.  The  export  trade  from  England  to  America  was  almost 
as  large  in  1772  as  was  the  export  trade  from  England 
to  the  whole  world  in  1704.     50,  10. 

C.  The  agriculture  of  the  colonies  is  important,  inasmuch  as, 

1.  It  supplies  all  of  their  own  needs  at  home.     53,  23. 

2.  It  helps  to  feed  the  Old  World.     54,  I. 

D.  In  their  fisheries  the  colonists  show  a  hardy  and  daring 
spirit  of  liberty,  54,  7,  inasmuch  as, 

1.  They  surpass  the  Dutch,  the  French,  and  the  English 
in  the  extent  of  this  perilous  industry.     55,  4. 

2.  They  have  attained   their  success  without  any  help 
from  us.    55,  15. 

DIGRESSION 

I.  It  is  not  wise  to  use  force  against  America,  56,  7,  because 

A.  Force  is  but  temporary,  56,  12,  for 

I.   It  does  not  remove  the  necessity  of  subduing  again. 

B.  Force  is  uncertain,  56,  16,  for 

I.    In  your  effort  to  subdue  by  force  you  may  fail, 

C.  Force  leaves  you  w^tho^^t  resource,  56,  18,  for 

1.  If  conciliation  fails,  force  remains,  whereas, 

2.  If  force  fails,  your  power  and  authority  are  defied. 

D.  Force  impairs  the  object  you  seek  to  preserve,  56,  24,  for 

I.   The  thing  you  fight  for  is  wasted  in  the  contest. 
£.   Force  will    weaken    the  strength  of  Britain   and  lay  her 

open  to  attack  from  her  enemies.     57,  I. 
F.   There  is  no  sort  of  experience  in  favor  of  force,  57,  8,  for 
I.   The  colonies  have  grown  to  their  present  magnitude 
and  utility  through  indulgence  rather  than  through 
compulsion  from  us.     57,  10. 


1 68  Analysis 


STATEMENT  OF  FACTS  (Resumed) 

E.  The  temper  and  character  of  the  Americans  must  modify 
our  treatment  of  them,  57,  20,  inasmuch  as, 

1.  Their  English  descent,  58,  9,  makes  them  insist  upon 
the  principle  of  "  no  taxation  without  representation," 

—  a  corner  stone  of  English  liberty.     58,  21. 

2.  They  are  inspired  with  the  idea  of  self-government 
by  the  form  of  their  provincial  legislative  assemblies, 
which  are  chiefly  representative.     60,  4. 

3.  They  are  inspired  with  a  love  of  freedom  by  the  form 
of  their  religious  belief,  60,  14,  inasmuch  as, 

a.   This  belief  is  opposed  to  all  implicit  submission  of 
mind  and  of  opinion,  60,  17,  since 
m.  It  is  a  Protestant  religion. 
n.    In  the  North  it  is  a  very  strong  form  of  dis 
sent. 

4.  The  colonists  in  the  South  are  inspired  with  a  special 
love  of  freedom,  62,  3,  inasmuch  as, 

a.   The  possession  of  slaves  makes  liberty  look  to  them 
like  a  form  of  rank  and  privilege.     62,  9. 

5.  Their  love  of  freedom  is  especially  strengthened  by 
the  study  of  law,  63,  I,  inasmuch  as, 

a.   This  study  makes  them   strenuous  in   demanding 
their  rights.     64,  2. 

6.  Their  love  of  freedom  is  strengthened  by  their  dis 
tance  from  the  seat  of  government.     64,  14. 

PROOF  OR  MAIN  ARGUMENT 

I.  The  colonies  should  be  conciliated,  66,  10,  because 

A.  Until    they    are    conciliated,   we    shall   be    in  a    very 
unstable  relation  with  them.     66,  13.          'V       ) 

B.  They  have  already  proved  their  capacity  for  self-govern 
ment,  67,  8,  for 


Analysis  169 


1.  Virginia   has   conducted    its    own   government. 
67,  12. 

2.  Massachusetts   has   subsisted    for    nearly   a  year 
without  any  government  imposed  by  us.      68,  7. 

C.   If  we  refuse  conciliation,  we  attack  our  own  established 
opinions,  68,  22,  for 

I.  In  order  to  prove  that  the  Americans  ought  not 
to  be  free,  we  are  obliged  to  depreciate  the 
value  of  freedom  itself.  68,  28. 

II.  The  colonies  should  be  conciliated  by  complying  with  their 
spirit  as  necessary,  79,  1 8,  because,  of  the  various  methods  suggested 
for  dealing  with  America, 

A.  The   first   method    (that    of    changing   the    spirit   by 
removing  the  causes)  is  impossible,  69,  28,  for 

1.  It  would  be    neither   prudent   nor  practicable  to 
hedge  in  their  growing  population,  71,  29,  for 

a.  If  you  should  attempt  to  check  their  growth 
by  making  no   further   grants    of  land,  they 
would  merely  spread  out  into  the  unoccupied 
land  already  granted.     70,  10. 

b.  If  you  should  stop  your    grants,  they  would 
occupy  the  land  without  grants,  70,  20,  for 

m.  You  can  not  station  garrisons  every 
where.  70,  22. 

«.  If  you  should  drive  them  from  one  place, 
they  would  wander  like  Tartars  to 
another.  71,  6. 

2.  It  would    not   be    wise   to  impoverish  them  in 
their  commerce,  agriculture,  and  fisheries,  72,  15, 
for 

a.  To  impoverish  the  colonies  is  to  injure  our 
selves.     72,  14. 

b.  To  impoverish  the  colonies  would  be  to  raise 
up  dangerous  enemies  for  ourselves.     72,  22. 


170  Analysis 


3.   It  would  be  impossible  to   alter  their   temper  and 
character,  72,  28,  for 

a.  You  can  not  falsify  their  English  pedigree.     73,  I. 

b.  You  can  not  force  them  to  abandon  their  religious 
beliefs.     73,  8. 

c.  You  can  not  turn  their  minds  from  the  study  of  law. 

73,  14- 

d.  You  can  not  annihilate  their  popular  assemblies, 
73,  20,  for 

m.  The  army  by  which  you  must  suppress  them 
would  probably  be  as  objectionable  as  the 
assemblies  themselves.  73,  22. 

£.   You  can  not  reduce  the  aristocratic  spirit  of  the 
southern  colonies  by  freeing  their  slaves,  74,  2,  for 
a.  The  slaves  might  not  accept  their  liberty,  74, 4,  for 
m.    History  furnishes  few  instances  of  the  ac 
ceptance  of  such  an  offer.     74,  5. 
n.   The  slaves  might  be  armed  by  their  former 

masters  to  fight  against  us.     74,  10. 
o.  The  slaves  would  be  likely  to  suspect  the 
genuineness  of  an  offer  of  liberty  from  that 
very  nation  which  has  sold  them  to  their 
present  masters.     74,  15. 

f.   Their  distance    from  the  seat  of  government  will 

continue  to  weaken  your  authority  over  them.    75,  i. 

B.   The  second  method  (that  of  prosecuting  their  spirit  in  its 

overt  acts  as  criminal)  ought  not  to  be  adopted,  79,  15,  for 

I.   The   ordinary   ideas   of   criminal  justice   which   are 

applicable  to  individuals  ought  not  to  be  applied  to 

a  whole  people,  75,  18,  for 

a.    Such  a  course  would  be  narrow  and  pedantic.  75,  25. 
2.   If  we  punish  the  colonists  for  asking  for  privileges, 
they  will  think  that  submission  to  us  is  equivalent  to 
slavery,  77,  8,  for 


Analysis  171 

a.   In  claiming  privileges  for  themselves  they  are  not 

denying  the  supreme  authority  of  Britain,  76,  23,  for 

m.    In  an  empire   the   subordinate  parts  have 

local    privileges    and    immunities.     76,  17. 

n.    The  claim  of  a  privilege  is,  ex  vi  termini, 

a  confession  of  subordination,  76,  24,  for 

x.    One  asks  for  a  privilege  only  from  one 

who  has  authority  to  grant  it.     76,  25. 

3.   We  are  not  in  a  position  to  sit  as  judge  of  the  crimes 

of  America,  77,  1 6,  for 
a.    We  should  be  sitting  as  judge  in  a  case  in  which 

we  have  a  personal  interest.    78,  3. 

^j..   To    treat    the  colonists  as   criminals  is   inexpedient, 
78,  12,  for 

a.  Already  in  our  treatment  of  Massachusetts  we  have 
been  led  to  act  as  if  we  were  fighting  against  an 
independent    power,  rather  than  punishing  rebel 
lious  subjects.     78,  19. 

b.  We  have  gained   nothing  so  far  by  our  efforts  to 
punish.     79,  8. 

C*.*  The  plan  of  complying  with  the  American  spirit  as  neces 
sary  is  the  only  possible  method  remaining,  79,  17,  for 

1.  The  plan  of  giving  up  the  colonies  altogether  is  un 
worthy  of  consideration.     69,  21. 

2.  The  other  plans  (A  and  B}  have  already  been  proved 
either  impracticable  or  inexpedient.     79,  13-17. 

III.   The  colonies  should  be  conciliated  by  admitting  them  into 
an  interest  in  the  English  Constitution,  82,  10,  because 

A.   You  ought  to  satisfy  them  in  the  matter  of  taxation,  79,  27, 
for 

i.    In  order  to  please  a  people,  you  must  give  them  the 
boon  they  ask.     80,  I. 

1  This    kind  of   argument    illustrates    the  so-called  "  Method    of 
Residues." 


172  Analysis 

2.  The  question  is  not  of  the  legality,  but  of  the  expe 
diency,  of  our  present  method  of  taxation.     81,  8. 

3.  The  necessary  concord  of  the  British  empire  can  be 
preserved  only  by  a  unity  of  spirit  in  all  its  parts.  81,  21. 

4.  Only  in  this  way  can  you  tell  whether  taxation  is  the 
real  cause  of  their  quarrel,  85,  9,  for 

a.  Some  say  that  the  Americans  are  objecting,  not  only 
to  taxation,  but  to  all  legislation  proceeding  from 
us.  83,  5. 

5.  At  present  we  are  in  the  very  ridiculous  position  of 
keeping  up  revenue  laws  which  are  mischievous,  in 
order  to  preserve  trade  laws  that,  according  to  Lord 
North,  are  useless.     84,  12. 

B.  You  would  be  justified  in  this  course  by  four  great  prece 
dents1,  87,  6,  for 

i,  2,  3,  and  4.  Ireland,  Wales,  Chester,  and  Durham 
were  pacified,  not  by  arms,  but  by  extending  to  them 
the  privileges  of  the  English  Constitution.  87-94. 

C.  You  do  not  require  for  this  proceeding  a  system  of  colony- 
representation  in  Parliament,  95,  19,  for 

I.  The  remoteness  of  the  colonies  precludes  such  an 
idea.  95,  15. 

2.   You  need  to  follow  only  the  constitutional  policy  of 

this  kingdom  with  regard  to  representation.     96,  9. 
IV.    The  colonies  should  be  conciliated  by  specific  acknowledg 
ment  on  our  part  of  the  following  general  principles  :  — 

A.   That  the  colonies  should  be  taxed  by  grant  and  not  by 
imposition,  96,  17,  because 

1.  They  are  not  represented  in  Parliament.     97,  16-20. 

2.  They  have  been  touched  and  grieved  by  taxation, 
98,  4,  for     • 

a.  Without  regard  to  the  amount  of  money  involved, 
it  is  a  grievance  to  be  deprived  of  rights.  99,  17, 

1  The  "  Argument  from  Analogy." 


Analysis  173 

b.    The  acts  of  Parliament  contain  a  confession  that 

the  taxes  have  been  a  financial  burden.     99,  25. 
3.   The  remoteness  of  the  colonies  has  in  the  past  pre 
vented  their  representation  in  Parliament.    100,  16-18. 

B.  That  the  colony  assemblies  have  the  legal  competency  to 
raise  taxes,  96,  18  and  100-1,  because 

I.  Grants  from  the  colony  assemblies  have  been  accepted 
without  question  for  nearly  a  century.  101,  7. 

C.  That  in  the  past  this  legal  competency  has  been  exercised 
in  a  dutifid  and  beneficial  way,  96,  21,  because 

I.  Numerous  records  on  the  journals  of  Parliament 
prove  that  the  colonies  not  only  gave,  but  gave  to 
satiety.  102-4. 

D.  That  in  the  past  Parliamentary  taxation  has  been  a  fail 
ure,  96,  23,  because 

1.  No  record  can  be  found  in  the  journals  of  Parliament 
to  show  the  amount  of  revenue  produced  by  Parlia 
mentary  taxation.     105,  12. 

2.  The  journals  of  Parliament  reveal  the  discontent  pro 
duced  by  Parliamentary  taxation.      105,  15. 

V.   The  colonies  should  be  conciliated  by  repealing  or  modifying 
it*  following  Acts  of  Parliament :  — 

A.  The  customs  law  passed  in  the  seventh  year  of  George  III. 
should  be  repealed.     106,  20. 

B.  The  Boston  Port  Bill  should  be  repealed,  106,  29,  because 

1.  The  corporation  of  Boston  was  not  heard  before  it 
was  condemned.     107,  22. 

2.  Other  towns  equally  guilty  have  not  received  the  same 
treatment.      107,  23. 

C.  The  Act  depriving  the  Golony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  of  its 
charter  should  be  repealed,  107,  1 1,  because 

I.  Several  of  its  provisions  tend  to  the  subversion  of  all 
public  and  of  all  private  justice.  108,  13. 

D.  The  Act  depriving  the  colonial  civil  courts  of  the  right  to 


174  Analysis 

try  English  soldiers   charged  with  murder  committed  in 
the  performance  of  duty  should  be  repealed,  107,  6,  because 

I.    It  is  justly  obnoxious.     108,  25. 

E.   The  Act  of  Henry  VIII.  relating  to  the  trial  of  treasons 
should  be  amended,  107,  15,  because 

i.    It  has  been  extended  beyond  its  purpose.      108,  29. 
VI.   The  colonies  should  be  conciliated  by  securing  to  them  a 
fair  and  unbiased  judicature  in  the  following  ways:  —  109,  4. 

A.  The  judges  in  the  superior  courts  should  be  paid  by  the  col 
onies  and  should  hold  office  during  good  behavior.     109, 
8-19. 

B.  The  courts  of  admiralty  should  be  regulated,  109,  22-27, 
because 

1.  In  the  past  these  courts  have  been  so  inaccessible  as 
almost  to  deny  justice.,     no,  5. 

2.  The  judges  have  been  partakers  of  the  profits  arising 
from  the  sale  of  vessels  and  merchandise  sold  under 
order  of  their  own  courts,     no,  6. 


REFUTATION 

I.  The  argument  that  the  grievance  arising  from  taxation  will 
apply  to  all  legislation,  no,  23,  is  unsound,  because 

A.  It  did  not  apply  to  all  legislation  in  the  case  of  Durham, 
from  which  I  have  drawn  my  illustration,     in,  19. 

B.  In  practice  people  do  not  carry  their  arguments  so  far  as 
they  may  carry  them  in  speculation,  112,  6,  for 

I.    Man  acts  from  adequate  motives  relative  to  his  inter 
est  and  not  on  metaphysical  speculations.     113,  12. 

C.  The  Americans  will  have  no  interest  contrary  to  the  gran 
deur  and  glory  of  England,  when  they  are  not  oppressed 
by  the  weight  of  it.     113,  19. 

II.  The  argument  that  my  plan  will   dissolve  the  unity  of  the 
empire,  114,  4,  is  untrue,  because 


Analysis  175 

A.    A  similar  plan,  when  applied  to  Ireland,  Wales,  Chester, 
and  Durham,  did  not  dissolve  the  unity  of  the  empire.     114. 

III.  The  argument  that  Lord  North's  proposition  is  better  than 
mine  is  untrue,  because 

A.  His  proposition  of  a  ransom  by  auction  is  without  prece 
dent  in  the  Constitution.      H5j  n. 

B.  His  proposition  would  be  fatal  to  the  Constitution,  115, 
19,  for 

I.    It  provides  for  taxation  in  the  secret  council-chamber 
of  the  ministry  and  not  in  open  Parliament.     115,  20. 

C.  His  proposition  does  not  satisfy  the  complaint  of  the  col 
onies.     1 1 6,  I. 

D.  His  proposition  will  cause  endless  difficulties,  unless  it  be 
universally  accepted  by  the  colonies,  117,  4,  for 

i.    If  some  colonies  refuse  to  accept  it,  the  obedient  will 
suffer  heavier  taxation  than  the  refractory.     117,  22. 

E.  His  proposition  will  lead  to  great  confusion  in  settling  the 
amount  of  taxation  to  be  imposed.     118,  26. 

F.  His   proposition   can    not    provide  for    prompt    payment. 
119,4. 

G.  His  proposition  is  designed  to  break  the  union  of  the  col 
onies.     119,  21. 

H.    His  proposition,  in  comparison  with  mine,  is  less  acceptable 
in  every  particular,  120,  for 

1.  Mine  is  plain  and  simple. 

2.  Mine  is  mild. 

3.  Mine  is  supported  by  experience. 

4.  Mine  is  universal  in  its  application. 

5.  Mine  is  immediate  in  its  conciliatory  effect. 

6.  Mine  is  worthy  the  dignity  of  a  ruling  people. 

IV.  The  argument  that  my  plan  will  yield  no  revenue  is  untrue, 
121,  I,  because 

A.   The  colonies  will  give  more   freely  under  my  plan  than 
under  the  other,  for 


176  Analysis 


1.  The   power   of  refusal  is   the  first   of  all  revenues. 

121,  3. 

2.  My  plan  in  conferring  the  blessings  of  peace  and  of 
freedom  will  add  to  the  material   prosperity  of  the 
people.      121,  27. 

3.  The  emulation  of  parties,  each  striving  for  the  good 
will  of  the  sovereign,  will  cause  each  party  to  pay  to 
that  sovereign  as  much  as  it  possibly  can.       122,  15. 

V.  The  argument  that  we  ought  to  force  the  colonies  into  sub 
mission  is  unsound,  123,  3,  because 

A.    Such  treatment  would  be  not  only  an   injustice,  but  the 
worst  economy  in  the  world,  123,  2,  for 

1.  No  revenue  from  America  can  ever  be  secured  by 
force,  123,  8,  for 

a.  The  case  of  India  shows  that  revenue  from  remote 
countries  is  not  to  be  expected.     123,  13. 

2.  America  is  contributing  her  part  to  the  British  revenue 
in  sending  taxable  objects  to  your  ports.     123,  16. 

3.  America  ought  to  be  preserved  in  her  full  strength  in 
order  to  aid  us  in  a  foreign  war  in  her  quarter  of  the 
globe.     123,  25. 

PERORATION 

I.  The  hold  which  England  has  upon  her  colonies  comes  not 
from  laws,  but  from  the  close  affection  which  grows  from  common 
names,  from  kindred  blood,  from  similar  privileges,  and  equal 
protection.  124,  3. 

IT.  Only  vulgar  and  mechanical  politicians  will  fail  to  see  that 
magnanimity  in  politics  is  not  seldom  the  truest  wisdom.  126,  13. 

III.  In  full  confidence  of  the  unalterable  truth  of  my  position,  I 
now  lay  the  first  stone  of  the  temple  of  peace.  127,  4. 


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